1000 Luxuries
by bouncingsunflowers
Summary: Still, Isuke had scowled, and demanded why, out of the hundreds of hospitals in the entire country, they had managed to end up not only in the same hospital, and not only in the same wing, but the same room together. Haruki had continued to grin, and, waving a Pocky stick in her face, replied, "Guess we're destined roommates for life, or something."
1. Here you guys go

One last A/N: Okay, after talking with the bf for a while (it helped that I'm majorly sick rn, and made quite the pitiful picture, I guess) we compromised, and the rest of the fic that I had written will stay up if you guys want to read it. This chapter holds the first half, while the next will hold the second half.

I'm sorry I won't be able to respond to all of your PMs and reviews individually, but like I said, I'm pretty sick right now, and a 103 degree fever (it's about time I got sick, really, considering how gross the NYC subways are, haha. Thankfully it's only a few more weeks of this before I get to return home to [relatively] clean Boston air) is making it kinda hard to concentrate on anything. To everyone who's telling me to stop being spineless, pathetic, weak-willed, etc etc, I understand your anger, and I really do apologize, but I humbly ask that you respect my decision. It's not like I'm doing this for the bf's sake; I'm doing it for my family's sake, and if obeying the wishes of the people who have loved and raised me all my life makes me pathetic, then so be it. Yes, they're old-fashioned and strict, but family's family; besides, the whole reason why I adored Haruki in the first place was because of her devotion to her family no matter what, you know?

Thank you to all you guys who are being so kind and understanding about the whole thing (like anon. anooon ilyyyyyy 33 oooh and Caelion, too, ahhh I'll be missing our messaging chains). And good to hear from you, nala-suu, haha :) thanks for your kind words, too.

And for all the people that keep asking, lol: yes, I am ethnically Japanese, though I am an American citizen. Not really sure why you guys were so surprised at that, hahaha

Phew...in any event, I really am sorry to all of you guys. Maybe someday, if the bf finally learns to act his age and stop tattling to my parents over every little thing, I'll be able to continue this. I really can't promise anything, but we'll see. And like I said in the previous chapter: this account is being handed over to him, so please know that I probably won't be able to see any reviews/PMs after a day or two from now.

Thanks again to all you readers.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Chapter 1**

* * *

On the first night at the hospital, Isuke had woken up to a throbbing pain in her arm and wrist, a wave of rage and humiliation at actually having lost to that virgin assassin, and Sagae Haruki's grinning visage.

Strangely, her mind had chosen to fixate on that last thing, and even more strangely, that last thing had immediately made her feel a little better about the former two.

Still, Isuke had scowled, and demanded why, out of the hundreds of hospitals in the entire country, they had managed to end up not only in the same hospital, and not only in the same wing, but the same room together.

Haruki had continued to grin, and, waving a Pocky stick in her face, replied, "Guess we're destined roommates for life, or something."

And then she had all but forced the chocolate stick in Isuke's mouth and said, "It's good to see you again, Isuke-sama."

Isuke had huffed and scoffed and rolled her eyes, but had munched on the Pocky stick and after a moment had admitted (only in her head, of course) that maybe it was good seeing her poor roommate again, if only because she staying in the hospital would be miserably boring without someone to talk to.

That had been one week ago.

Now, Isuke looked back at that moment and wondered if boredom might have been preferable after all.

For what had to be the ten-billionth time that morning, the same grubby little boy with grubby little hands clambered up onto her bed and beamed up at her expectantly, as if he expected her to do something other than stare down at him in mild disgust at his utter grubbiness.

"Isuke-nee-chan, your name is weird," he said cheerily.

Isuke responded with a saccharine smile, stiffly patting the boy's head.

"Wow, déjà vu~" she exclaimed, scooting back in her bed. "The family resemblance is uncanny. Bad taste must be in the genes, hmm?"

A merry chuckle from beside her only further grated on Isuke's nerves, and within seconds Haruki came bounding over to scoop the little brat from her bed.

"Isuke-sama doesn't like being disturbed, Aki. Why do you keep running back to her?" Haruki asked, holding her little brother in her uninjured arm.

"I like her. She's pretty," the boy explained.

"Bad taste, huh?" Haruki said, glancing back at Isuke with a little smirk.

Isuke responded with a leisurely shrug.

"Even those with bad taste can have flashes of insight now and then."

Haruki laughed, and was soon enveloped back into the fold of her ridiculously massive family. Her ridiculously massive family with ridiculously little to do, considering how they came to visit their elder sister every single day.

They were being loud and rambunctious and _poor_, as usual, devouring both Haruki and Isuke's share of disgusting hospital food while crowding around Haruki's bed.

"Thank you very much again, Inukai-san, for always giving us your food. But are you really sure you don't want any? You're so skinny as it is." One of the siblings—Fuji, or something like that—was staring at her as she spoon-fed one of the youngest brats.

"…Isuke would rather starve than eat any of that," Isuke replied, twirling a strand of hair idly about her finger. "If you didn't eat it I'd just throw it out anyway."

The girl smiled at her appreciatively, and Isuke almost instinctively glanced away.

Poor people were so easily pleased. It was stupid. And kind of sad.

"I think you're making Isuke-sama uncomfortable, Fuyuka," Haruki said with a chuckle, breaking a cookie in half for her quarreling little twin brothers. "Calling her out on an act of kindness."

Isuke rolled her eyes, leaned back in her bed, and wished her stupid arm and wrist would heal already. She couldn't even paint her nails like this. Hospital life was so lame.

It was another hour before Haruki's family finally began to file out, ending their visit around noon, at the usual time.

"Say hi to Mom for me," Haruki was saying, leaning against the bedframe as she saw her family out the door. "Make sure she's taking all of her meds, and eating well, and getting to sleep on time instead of watching those dumb dramas at night."

"Of course, Sis. Rest up, okay? We'll be back on Monday."

Isuke perked up at that, and tossed her magazine to the side as Haruki closed the door after the last brat left the room.

"They don't visit during the weekends? Maybe I can finally get some peace and quiet around here," she said, stretching out in the bed. The room already felt a thousand times more peaceful with them gone.

Haruki shrugged, chuckling and staring at the ground.

"Nah, I have…stuff to do during the weekends. Work," she said, and her voice held a strange note that Isuke had never heard before.

Isuke blinked, and within that split second Haruki was grinning again, seating herself on the edge of Isuke's bed.

"Anyway, Isuke-sama, it seems Aki's got a little crush on you," she said, and snapped a Pocky stick between her teeth.

"What work are you—"

"I guess I can't really blame him. You're pretty easy on the eyes, Isuke-sama."

"What work do you have this weekend—"

"It sucks that Azuma did all that to your arm and wrist, but I'm glad she at least didn't hurt your hands. I really like your hands, Isuke-sama."

"…ah, all of these interruptions...what should I do? She's really starting to piss me off 3"

Isuke plastered on another sweet smile, leaning her head against her hand as she stared at her roommate. "You do know that you're only making Isuke more curious by avoiding the question, don't you?"

Haruki responded with that irritating little laugh of hers, waving her hand apologetically.

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry, Isuke-sama."

Before Isuke could respond, Haruki snagged her uninjured arm.

"Wha—"

Her roommate had the same gorilla-like strength as she always did, and her grip was like iron as she stared intently down at Isuke's hand.

_What is she…_

"Your hands really are pretty, Isuke-sama. It's good they weren't scarred at all," she murmured.

Isuke rolled her eyes again, and was right about to continue questioning her about her mysterious job over the weekend (_what would a girl like Haruki be so keen on hiding, anyway?_) when she felt something soft and warm press against her fingers.

Isuke stared, utterly unmoving and uncomprehending, as Haruki brushed her lips against her palm, and then turned her hand over and lightly pressed her lips to Isuke's knuckles.

"Really pretty," she said, and then put Isuke's hand down and grinned.

It was the grin that did it.

That casual, carefree, open and friendly grin—so nonchalant, after she had just—

"Y-you…what did you…"

Isuke was painfully aware of the heat that was rising to her face, painfully aware of her sudden inability to articulate herself, and even more painfully aware of the fact that there was absolutely no reason why she should be so embarrassed by something like this.

It was just a kiss on the hand—it was so stupid, like some kind of lame attempt at chivalry, or something—and yet here she was.

Inukai Isuke, stuttering. Blushing.

Acting like a _virgin._

All because of some constantly grinning poor girl who ate too much Pocky and had some weird hand fetish.

"…you okay, Isuke-sama? You're kind of red."

Haruki was looking curiously down at her, a faint smile playing at the corners of her lips.

"You're an _idiot_," Isuke snapped, with not even a quarter of the venom she had intended.

And with that remark, childish and lame even to her own ears, Isuke turned her back to her roommate and buried herself under the bed's covers.

* * *

_Phew…that was a close one._

Haruki stepped out onto the roof of the hospital, waving at the usual patients that were out walking during this time of day.

She made her way to her usual spot, a quiet corner by the very edge of the fence.

Flopping down onto the ground, Haruki stared up at the cloudless sky.

And she sighed.

She hadn't expected Isuke to end up here.

It had made Haruki kinda happy, at first, to see her old roommate again. For all her attitude, she wasn't really all that bad of a person.

And she seemed to at least understand the importance of family.

Seemed to understand her when she had said that for family, she would do anything.

_Maybe she, of all people, might understand…_

She was an assassin too, after all, and so maybe…

Haruki shook her head, chuckling at her own dumb thoughts.

But this was different from killing, wasn't it?

She couldn't imagine Isuke ever doing what Haruki did. Isuke had too much pride to even consider it.

"Pride is as much of a luxury as that 3000 yen nail polish, huh?" she mused.

Yet another luxury that Haruki couldn't afford to have.

Her phone vibrated, and Haruki closed her eyes.

She really was happy to see Isuke again, but it was going to be a pain in the ass to do everything without her new/old roommate noticing anything. She had already come dangerously close just now, with her questioning.

Haruki wasn't sure why she didn't want Isuke knowing. It wasn't as if she had anything to prove to her, or had some kind of front to keep up with her.

But if it was at all possible, she really wanted to keep the other girl out of it.

Her phone vibrated again, and Haruki got to her feet.

She had to do her best.

Freedom, after all, was maybe the greatest of luxuries that would be forever out of reach.

* * *

A/N: I got the whole hand thing from Minakata's awesome twitter pic of this best couple ever. You should google it. It's beautiful.

I'm planning on making this a multi-chaptered thing...but my motivation tends to wax and wane...mostly wane. So please leave a comment/feedback/review to keep my motivation up and/or if you have any desire to see this continued! :)

* * *

**Chapter 2: Chapter 2**

* * *

Quick A/N: The rest of my notes are at the bottom, but just to let you guys know: these ~ things are just substitutes for hearts, since Isuke-sama doesn't sound like Isuke-sama in my head without the _hearts_. Her speech totes needs the hearts, guys. And since I'm incompetent, I have no idea how to make hearts symbols on this website, and thus we shall have to make do with squiggles for now. (Can you even use symbols on ? On AO3 the hearts show up just fine :( I'm so confused and technologically illiterate) But anyway, here's chapter 2! :)

* * *

"So the main entrée is steak, half a pound and cooked medium-rare, with a side of…foss… foy…fois gras—am I saying that right, honey?"

He wasn't, but Isuke only giggled and replied, "Flawless pronunciation, Papa. Now, don't forget: the steak has to be made from Kobe beef, from the restaurant I told you about in the Shinbashi business area of Tokyo. Please get it right this time, Papa. Remember…hamburgers from American fast food chains are _not _the same thing."

Isuke could practically hear the embarrassed frown on her father's face as he laughed, faintly and guiltily.

"Now, now, Isuke, Papa tried his best, but the line was just so long, and I had a business meeting, so I barely had time to grab anything if I wanted to get the hospital on time—"

"Well, today you don't have a business meeting, so it should work out fine," Isuke interrupted. She couldn't help but laugh again when she heard the very faint, very weak protest in response.

Papa was just _so _much fun to tease and bully, especially compared to her always unflappable mama.

"Sorry, Papa. I know you tried your best. But you know…your best just wasn't good enough~ Try to be a little better than your best today, okay?"

There was another laugh, simultaneously exasperated and affectionate, and her father said, "All right, I'll be there as soon as possible. Is there anything else you need?"

Isuke paused, leaning back against the rooftop's fence.

And, entirely unbidden, the image of Haruki sharing that tiny portion of hospital food with her rabble of little brats day after day flashed through her mind.

She scowled, entirely at a loss as to why the heck she had thought of _them_, especially on one of the few days that she was free of them.

_…__give me a break. As if I'm some kind of goody-goody toolbox that would actually—_

"Actually, Papa, can you make that two steaks? And…Pocky. Get it in bulk. And bring some candy, too, or whatever you think a bunch of poor brats would like," Isuke said, because apparently her mouth was entirely disconnected from her brain.

And had decided to rebel in a bout of goody-goody toolbox-ness.

"Poor…brats?" her father repeated, sounding just as baffled as Isuke felt.

_As if I care about her or her family. Why am I—_

"Mm-hmm. You should know what poor people like better than I do, Papa. Like the hamburgers you bought before. Just get stuff that won't spoil over the weekend. I'm counting on you, Papa. See you soon. Love you~"

Hanging up on her still confused father, Isuke threw her phone into her purse and mentally berated herself for not listening to herself.

_What are you thinking? She's definitely going to get the wrong idea from this—she's going to think we're actually friends, or something—_

Though, well, Isuke supposed she and Haruki actually _were _kind of friends. At the very least, Isuke could tolerate her presence much better than she could those of those other people, and Haruki had probably been the only person at Myoujou that Isuke wouldn't have killed in a heartbeat, had she turned out to be the target.

_Still. She's going to think that I actually noticed that she barely ate anything this week, that I actually care about the bags under her eyes or the fact that her wounds aren't going to heal nearly as quickly as they should if she doesn't start taking better care of herself—_

"Oh, great."

Isuke rolled her eyes at no one other than herself. Even her internal monologues were beginning to make her sound like some pathetic overly sentimental softie.

Making her way down the stairs before she could get any more maudlin, Isuke glanced down at her watch.

Haruki had been gone when Isuke had woken up that morning. Her mysterious job apparently started early on Saturday mornings.

_What job could a high-school dropout with a broken arm and other wounds possibly have? Especially one with such weird hours…_

Lost in thought, Isuke didn't notice the tall form in front of her and the scent of a very familiar perfume right until they both hit in the face.

"Oh, I beg your pardon. I didn't see you until…"

Smiling beatifically, Isuke regained her balance and was right about to aim a not-so-subtly worded death threat at this clumsy moron when she realized who she had run into.

"Well, well…if it isn't Isuke-chan."

Dark, narrow eyes, pale white skin, long raven hair, and a slender, carefully maintained figure.

Isuke recognized her immediately. Sanada Ren-san—a man's name, like Isuke's, and yet nowhere near as cool.

A business associate of Papa's, as well as a frequent employer of Mama's, the woman was positively made of money. At the age of thirty-four, she was already rich enough to build and own her own small country, if she wanted to.

If it weren't for this massive wealth, Isuke was sure that she would have stabbed this woman in the face many years ago, especially considering the fact that—

"Oh, I see. You must be here recovering from your injuries. I heard the unfortunate news, Isuke-chan," she said, and Isuke twitched at the horrid honorific. "How…sad, that you weren't able to finish the job at Myoujou."

Isuke stiffened, folding her hands together and summoning a disarming smile.

"Ah, Sanada-san! What a…_pleasant_ surprise," she said, clicking her heels agitatedly against the ground and wishing she could dig one of them into this woman's gut.

Sanada chuckled, eyes cool and mocking.

"Of course, I'm certain this _failure _resulted solely from bad luck, rather than any lackof skill on your part, hmm?" she continued, smirking.

_You're just a filthy old hag who's jealous of Isuke's youth and beauty 3, _Isuke thought.

"Oh, you could say that," Isuke said, and absolutely hated how this was the _one _woman with whom Isuke's thoughts and words never matched up.

Filthy old hag or not, Sanada's family and company had been a source of a significant chunk of both Mama and Papa's income for as long as Isuke could remember. Isuke unfortunately couldn't exactly be her…usual self, around her.

Bowing slightly, she flashed another bright smile; one of the few she had ever given that hadn't been immediately followed by a barbed remark—or a knife in the back.

"That _unpleasantness_ aside, what brings you to the hospital, Sanada-san?" she asked.

The only hospitals Isuke would have expected this hag to frequent were plastic surgery clinics, for her monthly injection of Botox.

Sanada chuckled again, giving a slow, leisurely shrug.

"Just some business, Isuke-chan. An…associate of mine is staying here, and so I decided that I ought to come here in person to complete the business deal. I'm pleased to say that it was a…_very _satisfying transaction," she said, her smile widening to show rows of perfectly laser-whitened teeth.

"Is that so? How interesting," Isuke replied, hoping that none of the horror that she was feeling showed on her face. Business was probably right after math and science in the universe's ranking of the most soul-crushingly _boring _things ever. She hated hearing about it even from Papa—there was no way she would survive listening to nonsense about stocks and investments from this horrid old skank.

Yanking her phone out of her bag, Isuke cleared her throat and looked very apologetic.

"Oh, my, it seems my roommate is calling me, Sanada-san. As much as I would like to hear about your business deals, I'm afraid I have a prior engagement, so…if you'll excuse me…"

Much to Isuke's _irritation_, Sanada rose an imperious hand to stop her.

"Roommate? I didn't think you were the type to share anything, much less rooms, Isuke-chan. Your doting fathers didn't request a single room for you?" she asked, arching a brow.

"Nope~" Isuke replied, forcing a laugh. "My roommate is someone I knew beforehand, so Isuke doesn't mind." _Except when her giant poor family comes to visit, but they're poor and don't know any better so Isuke can't hold it against them anyway. _

"Knew beforehand? From…Myoujou?"

Sanada's eyes darkened, and she stared at Isuke with a strange, sudden intensity.

"Oh, wow, how'd you know, Sanada-san? It's almost like you're stalking Isuke, or something 3," Isuke said, glancing furtively down at her phone again.

Sanada was silent, her expression abruptly closed and pensive.

"Well, then…I'm sure you're very busy, Sanada-san, so I'll be going now. Goodbye," Isuke said, inching away.

"…goodbye, Isuke-chan. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon," Sanada replied, still looking at her oddly.

_Oh, I wouldn't count on it. _

As soon as the other woman turned away, Isuke glared daggers at her back, wishing she could throw actual daggers at it.

_Arrogant, irritating hag 3_

What kind of person even came to a hospital to discuss business? Isuke couldn't believe she had the bad luck to run into that woman here, of all places, while she was still humiliatingly injured.

She rolled her eyes as she made her way back to her room.

_Filthy rich or not, she can't even hold a candle to Papa or Mama's class._

Speaking of Papa, he would probably be here soon.

With the steak. And candy, and Pocky, and other things that Isuke would somehow have to give to Haruki without her getting any weird ideas.

"What a pain~ This is why being a 'good person' is an absolutely stupid waste of time," she grumbled, shoving open her room door.

"Whoa!"

Isuke started at the startled noise, looking up to see Haruki (_why was she back already?_) staring back at her.

Or, more specifically, Isuke looked up to see a dripping wet, entirely naked Haruki staring back at her.

"...er, welcome back, Isuke-sama," Haruki said, after a pause.

And then, quirking a semi-awkward version of her usual grin, she added, "Would you, uh…mind closing the door?"

Isuke blinked, and while her hand automatically moved to slam the door shut behind her, her eyes remained fixed on her roommate.

Or, once again more specifically, her roommate's dripping wet, entirely naked, very toned and fit bod—

Isuke gave herself a sharp bop to the head, and her current train of thought thankfully died right there.

* * *

_Did she see it?_

For one, terrifying moment, the moment that Isuke had barged into the room and openly stared at her, Haruki thought that her roommate had seen her leg.

But then Isuke abruptly hit herself on the head, and since that would have been a really weird and unfitting reaction, Haruki exhaled softly in relief and quickly swung her leg onto the other side of the bed so that it was hidden from Isuke's sight.

Not that Isuke was even looking at her anymore.

The other girl seemed to be furiously grinding her teeth, her agitation palpable even as her lips curved upward in her usual smile.

"First my mouth, then my eyes, none of you are listening to Isuke today…ah, I think I might just have to kill you all," Isuke was muttering, and Haruki watched in confusion as her roommate actually fingered the brass knuckle knives she always seemed to carry around with her.

Deciding against asking about the reason as to why Isuke was suddenly acting kind of crazy, or how exactly anyone could go about killing their own body parts, Haruki hastily snatched an oversized t-shirt hanging from the edge of her bed and slipped into it.

_Crap, what the hell am I doing? A shirt won't help…I need pants. _

Out of the corner of her eye, Haruki noticed Isuke turn to look at her again, apparently having stopped her murderous mumblings.

Not good.

She had to distract her, or Isuke would definitely notice something while Haruki was trying to put her shorts on.

And the easiest, surest way to distract Isuke was to piss her off.

_Sorry, Isuke, but a little teasing is in order here…desperate times call for desperate measures. _

"You looked pretty engrossed there for a second, Isuke-sama. Liked what you saw, huh?" she said, with a smirk that she hoped was at least mildly irritating.

To Haruki's surprise—and confusion—Isuke didn't react the way she had expected (and hoped) she would.

Not at first, anyway.

Because Isuke's first reaction was to flush a shade of pink only a little lighter than her hair, and even with what had happened yesterday, with the hand-kissing thing, embarrassment was definitely not a reaction that Haruki expected from Inukai Isuke.

She had assumed the blushing yesterday had been a trick of the light, or at least just a weird fluke.

But no, Isuke was definitely flushed now, and unless all the hospital bulbs were suddenly red-tinted, it wasn't a trick of the light, either.

This would've been the perfect opportunity to slip into her shorts, but Isuke's odd reaction threw Haruki off, and she couldn't help but clear her throat apologetically.

"I was just teasing, Isuke-sama," Haruki said, and that seemed to snap the other girl out of whatever daze she had been in, because within seconds Isuke was scoffing, rolling her eyes, and turning her back to her like the old Isuke-sama Haruki knew.

"I think I was just appalled by your poor manners~ Lounging around naked in a shared room… are you some kind of savage?" Isuke drawled, inspecting her nails. "Who takes a shower in the middle of the day, anyway? Didn't you just take one last night?"

With Isuke's back halfway turned and her eyes fixed on something else, Haruki began tugging on a pair of shorts as quickly as she could with only one hand.

"Yeah, but I felt dirty, so. And well…wouldn't smashing headlong into a room without knocking also be considered poor manners?" Haruki replied, smiling slightly.

A sudden, stinging pain lanced through her leg, and Haruki grimaced as she finished yanking on her shorts.

_Good…they're just long enough to cover it. _

With another surge of relief, Haruki hopped up onto her feet, ignoring the fresh pain in her left arm as she adjusted the sling.

"I didn't think you'd be back so early," Isuke said, frowning slightly. "Why _are _you back so early? Didn't you just leave for whatever work you're doing this morning?"

Haruki chuckled, forcing another grin as she scratched the back of her neck.

If Isuke was asking a question like this, then that meant she really hadn't noticed Haruki sneaking out the night before.

_All right, this is good. Maybe I really can pull this off without her noticing anything. _

…no, that wasn't right.

There couldn't be any maybes.

She _had_ to pull it off without her noticing anything. If Isuke noticed, then that increased the chances that Fuyuka would somehow find out, and then maybe Mom, or her younger siblings—

"Hey, are you ignoring me?"

Isuke sounded annoyed, but not necessarily suspicious, and Haruki quickly managed another laugh.

"'Course not, Isuke-sama. Today I…I did a pretty good job, and so my boss was happy and let me go early," Haruki explained, as casually as she could.

Isuke arched a perfectly waxed eyebrow, but just as she parted her lips to say something, her phone went off.

"Oh, it's Papa. He got here fast," she said, swiping the touch screen of her phone.

Grateful for the convenient distraction, Haruki leaned forward.

"Isuke's dad, huh? Wonder what he's like," she mused aloud.

Isuke glanced up.

"He's perfect, of course. Only the perfect parents could raise someone like me, don't you think? But anyway, you'll see for yourself soon enough. I'll be right back. Papa's hopelessly bad with directions."

Twiddling her fingers in a brief wave, Isuke left the room, closing the door behind her.

And Haruki collapsed onto her bed, letting out a sigh of mingled exhaustion, relief, and a dozen different other conflicting emotions that she was too tired to identify.

Her arm ached, and her leg stung, but the worst pain had to be...

Wincing, Haruki shook her head.

_Don't think about it. _

Thinking about the physical pain served as a conduit to thinking about…about other things, things that she wasn't ready to be thinking about yet.

It was similar to assassination, in a way.

Don't think, just tighten the garrote around the neck until they're no longer breathing.

Just the physical aspect. When to tighten, when to let go. Not about the fact that she was crushing a life, or that this life could belong to someone's father, brother, mother, sister...

Exhaling shakily, Haruki ran a hand slowly over her face.

At least she was done with that, now.

At least with what she was doing now, she wouldn't hurt anyone else ever again.

_But you're suffering more now, aren't you? Before, you were hurting others, but now you're hurting yourself. You want to be free now just as much as you did then, don't you?_

Haruki's inner voice sounded suspiciously like Isuke, and not for the first time she thought back to the "advice" her roommate had given her before she had gone to meet Haru.

And then she thought of what Haru-chan had said to her, after they had all survived Haruki's final attack.

_Forgiveness, huh…_

The rattle of the doorknob snapped Haruki out of her reverie, and she quickly straightened.

The last thing she needed was for Isuke to see her moping around.

And so Haruki got to her feet, blocked out—everything—and grinned.

_Don't think about it. _

* * *

A/N: Thank you very much for all the awesome feedback so far, guys :) If this level of interest continues, then I'll be certainly be more than happy to continue the story. That said, there are a few directions that the story can take from here on out, and I would like your input :)

Ah but before any of that-this is something I probably should've said from the beginning: starting from the next chapter onwards, **this story is going to contain some adult/mature themes.** Nothing terribly lurid or explicit, but definitely not for kids. If you're fine with, say, watching rated R movies, then you should be fine with everything in this story. Basically, I just don't want to end up scarring some innocent minds D: so please proceed with caution.

Anyway! The input that I'd like from you guys is just what you guys think Isuke and Haruki's sexualities are. As it is now, I personally think that Isuke, because of her whole "men over 40" comment, is straight-and will eventually make an exception for a certain Pocky lover we all know and love. Haruki I have absolutely no idea based on canon, but I kinda feel like she wouldn't really be very interested in romance at all, as busy as she is with basically raising 10 kids. But if you guys disagree at all with either of my opinions and would like it changed, please let me know! It's not super important, but their sexualities will influence the way that their relationship progresses, so if you feel strongly about it one way or the other, please feel free to let me know now. (This extends to criticism in general. Please feel free to let me know if you don't like anything about the story. Feedback is always welcomed).

Oneeeee last thing, and then I promise I'm done. Haruki and Isuke's characterizations are going to be based on both the manga and the anime. Mainly because I feel like their relationship is a lot cuter/fleshed out in the manga, and also because manga Haruki has that line about not being able to make a living by killing that I don't think was in the anime, but that I think is really super important to her character.

Ack this is a freaking long note.

**TL;DR: STORY IS MATURE. IF YOU CARE, TELL ME IF YOU PREFER STRAIGHT OR GAY OR BI. CHARACTERIZATION IS BASED ON BOTH THE MANGA AND ANIME. PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK. YOU ALL ROCK.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Chapter 3**

* * *

Quick note: A big thank you to both Escape Trampoline and TheRoseShadow21 for looking into and helping me with the whole hearts thing, haha, but unfortunately, because of this website's formatting, it seems like we must be deprived of the full effect of Isuke-sama's heart-speak for now. Therefore, whenever you see the number 3, please know that this is a stand-in for a heart. I was trying to do the whole less-than symbol plus 3 to make a heart, but apparently those symbols don't show up either, so...yeah. 3s stand for hearts, guys!

Also...this chapter was _supposed _to be dark and whatnot, but then Isuke's parents kind of took over and so it turned out being...not dark. Like at all. So the mature themes will start next chapter, haha. Anyway, please enjoy chapter 3!

* * *

"You know…you're a very lovely girl, Sagae-san."

Inukai Eisuke's voice was like velvet, and he gave both his husband and Isuke very pointed, very _obvious_ glances.

"Isn't she a very attractive young woman, Shinji?"

Isuke's father nodded rapidly, clapping his hands together and beaming.

"Oh, yes, _very _attractive. You must have girls just lined up for you, huh, Sagae-san? Er—and guys too, of course. If you're into guys, that is. Which wouldn't be, _bad _per se, but I personally am kind of hoping that maybe you prefer girls—at least a little bit—over guys. You're still a very lovely girl either way, Sagae-san, but I mean, it'd be nice if you were, you know, into girls _that_ way, since Isu—er, that is, since, uh…since…"

Papa, it seemed, had finally noticed the death glare that Isuke had been sending his way for the past ten minutes.

Ten _agonizing _minutes in which both of her parents had done nothing but exchange significant glances, nudge each other, and act like complete _idiots_.

_A little over ten minutes ago…_

"Surprise, Isuke."

Inukai Eisuke slid out of the Murcielago, dusting off his suit and smiling calmly.

Isuke stared, wide-eyed, as her father scrambled out of the car after his husband.

"Surprise, surprise! Mama came back early, and so we decided to come see you together!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

Eisuke chuckled, raising a brow.

"Well? Aren't you going to come and give your mama a hug?" he asked, spreading out his arms.

Squashing her rising urge to run and do just that, Isuke responded with a smirk.

"Ah, Mama should really know better than that. A gentleman always makes the first move," she said, wagging a slender finger.

Eisuke laughed again, softly, bringing a hand thoughtfully to his chin.

"That's very true. Forgive Mama, Isuke. It was a long plane ride, and I—"

Isuke wrapped her arms tightly around him, cutting him off with a, "Forgiven, forgiven, at least for today. You're lucky—Isuke's in a good mood, especially since Mama's come all the way here from America."

"I'm thankful, and lucky indeed. I brought back a few…_interesting_ souvenirs, too. But anyway, let's go back to your room and talk there. You shouldn't be moving around so much."

Isuke waved a hand carelessly, shaking her head as they started back from the parking lot.

"I'm fine. Both my arm and my wrist are healing well, the doctors say. It's all just because I was just…careless," she admitted, frowning at the memory of her humiliating defeat. Her wounds really angered her more than they hurt her, reminders as they were of her failure to eliminate such an easy target like Ichinose Haru.

"Hey, Isuke, I got the two steaks, candy, and Pocky like you asked me to, but do you mind if I give one of the steaks to Mama? He hasn't eaten all day, and I don't really think you'll be able to finish both of them, do you?" Papa said, indicating the bags that he was holding.

Isuke paused, momentarily silent as she considered her reply.

_Well…here's the perfect excuse to back out of playing nicey-nice with Haruki. Mama is more important by far, of course, and I haven't eaten since…_

Since she had ordered sashimi deluxe through a delivery service from an expensive sushi place just the day before. While Haruki…hadn't eaten a thing since Thursday, when she had taken a few bites out of a disgusting hospital-prepared sandwich before giving the rest to her younger sister.

_Oh, for the love of—_

"Mama can have my portion, then," she said, running a hand irritably over her face. "The other steak was never for me. Does Papa think Isuke is some kind of pig? 3"

Both of her parents turned to look at her, then, and Mama stopped in front of her room door.

"Not for you? Papa did say you were asking for strange things, like Pocky," he said, staring curiously down at her. "And candy. You hate candy, Isuke."

"Then…" Papa's eyes became very wide, and he all but gawked at her.

"Is this a gift for someone? Is our little _Isuke_ actually getting a _gift_ for someone? Someone _other_ than herself?" he demanded, looking flabbergasted.

Resisting the urge to stomp down on her father's foot, Isuke forced an entirely casual air as she shrugged.

"It's nothing special. Generosity is a virtue, and as you both should know better than anyone else, Isuke is full of virtues," she said, studiously avoiding eye contact with her ever-perceptive Mama.

"Isuke is certainly full of something," Mama said drily, and chuckled when Isuke scowled at him.

Glancing at the nameplate outside the door, he pointed at the second set of characters.

"Sagae Haruki, hmm? I'm assuming this is who the steak is for?"

At Isuke's reluctant nod, Mama smiled.

"She must be quite the girl, to interest my Isuke," he murmured, and his hand dropped down onto the doorknob.

"She does _not _interest me—"

But Mama put a finger to his lips and then opened the door, and Isuke rolled her eyes as she followed him into the room.

Haruki was sitting cross-legged on her bed, nibbling on a Pocky, and she looked up with a smile when they walked into the room.

That was when Papa _gasped_, very dramatically, and pointed straight at her.

"Eisuke! She's eating a Pocky_!_" he exclaimed. "Isuke _specifically_ asked me to get Pocky. In _bulk_! And Isuke _hates _it when I buy in bulk, because that's what poor people do! She must _actually _really care about her, Eisuke!"

If Isuke didn't love her daddy so dearly, she could've strangled him right then and there.

With an amused, sideways glance at her, Mama nodded.

"I see the Pocky, Shinji. Calm down. Though I certainly can't blame you for being excited, considering how very…unusual and _interesting_ this situation is," Mama said, stroking his chin.

Isuke had never, ever thought that her parents would be the embarrassing type. Even with boyfriends and girlfriends she had brought home in the past, Mama had been cool and almost dismissive, while Papa had been his usual sweet, if not somewhat bumbling self.

So why they were suddenly acting like idiotsaround Haruki, Isuke hadn't the faintest idea.

"You know, Mama, Papa, you're both being _very _rude," she said, her lips only barely managing to twitch upwards into her usual smile. "Look at how much you're confusing my roommate."

And Haruki did look confused, her smile somewhat uncertain as she continued chewing on the stick of Pocky.

"Forgive us for our lack of manners, Sagae-san. My name is Inukai Eisuke, and this is my husband, Shinji. We're Isuke's parents," Mama said, smoothly lowering himself in a bow.

"Nice to meet you, dude," Haruki returned genially, inclining her head in a lazy kind of half-bow.

"Sagae-san!"

Papa all but _launched _himself at Haruki, clasping her hands with an almost reverent awe.

"Sagae-san, please, you must tell me: did you ask Isuke to get you some more Pocky?" he demanded, clutching at her hands like a lifeline.

_What the heck is he…_

"Papa…_what _exactly are you doing?" Isuke asked, trying to keep the edge out of her voice.

Haruki, glancing between Isuke and Papa, looked entirely baffled.

"Er…no?" she said, honestly.

Papa then _squealed_. Like a little girl.

"Then Isuke _noticed _herself that you like Pocky, and took it upon herself to specifically ask me to get some for you! Do you hear this, Eisuke?" Papa said, hopping up and down in absolute delight.

"Loud and clear," Mama replied, staring intently down at Haruki.

"Here!" Papa then proceeded to dump the contents of his bag onto Haruki's lap.

He…had really gone all out, buying what appeared to be about twenty giant packs of Pocky.

"All for you. From Isuke." Glancing back at Isuke, he mouthed, "With love?"

Instead of replying, Isuke gripped her father by the collar of his jacket and dragged him backwards.

"Why don't you sit down, Papa? You had a long day, and I think all that exhaustion is starting to get to your head," she said, beaming as she shoved him down onto her bed.

"Uh…wow," Haruki said, from somewhere under the mound of Pocky boxes.

After a beat, she emerged from the mini-mountain of snacks, looking decidedly at a loss.

"Is this really all for me, Isuke-sama?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Isuke…_sama_?" Mama repeated, arching a brow.

Blatantly ignoring her mama for the first time in her life, Isuke twirled her hair around her finger and shrugged again.

"It's no big deal," she said, avoiding eye contact with every person in the room. "You'll starve to death at this rate, so Isuke asked Papa to pick up some snacks. Be grateful that Isuke is so kind and generous 3"

There was a pause, and then a soft, amused laugh.

Isuke frowned, looking back at Haruki to see the other girl smiling at her.

"I am. Thanks, Isuke-sama. I'll think of you whenever I'm enjoying them," she said, and grinned.

"…Isuke also got you a little meal for today," Mama said, and gestured to Papa.

Papa leapt to his feet again and nodded.

"That's right! Do you enjoy steak, Sagae-san?"

Haruki blinked, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Steak? I don't think I've had steak in…"

She paused, counting off on her fingers, and then shook her head and continued, "In really long time. But yeah, I love it."

"_Excellent_! This is the best steak that Japan has to offer, made from Kobe beef and prepared by professional chefs."

With a flourish, Papa presented the platter of steak with the side of fois gras.

"All for you. From Isuke. With lo—"

"Please shut up and sit down, Papa 3"

"Wha—this is really for me?"

Haruki was staring, wide-eyed, down at the steaming plate of food. She looked back up at Isuke, brow knit in confusion.

"Kobe beef? Man…I don't know if I can accept this, Isuke-sama—"

"If you don't eat it all, Isuke will kill you," Isuke interrupted, pleasantly. _Right after I finish killing Papa. And maybe Mama. _

Haruki snickered, pushing her bangs back out of her face and grinning once again.

"Well, if you put it that way…"

She winked, and brandished the fork Papa had given her.

"Then, I'll just shut up and worship your generosity in silence, Isuke-sama." Glancing back down at her food, she whistled. "Dang, I never thought I'd ever even seen real Kobe beef, let alone eat any. Thanks a ton, Isuke-sama! And Isuke-sama's parents!"

Taking a forkful into her mouth, Haruki chewed slowly, her eyes going humongous.

"What the—this is _incredible_! It literally melts in your mouth! I didn't know food could do that!" she exclaimed, hastily cutting herself another piece. "This is awesome!"

Isuke smirked, leaning back against her bed as she watched her roommate devour her food.

This much was expected of a poor person, but still. The way Haruki was gushing over the food and so obviously savoring every bite, looking all the world like some overly excited puppy—it was amusing to see.

And almost cute, in a way.

…_what am I thinking?_

Isuke's smile (since when had her smirk even become a smile, anyway?) vanished as soon as she noticed Mama and Papa both staring at her.

Staring very, very intently. Positively _scrutinizing. _

"…what is it, Mama, Papa?"

Mama chuckled, shaking his head.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just…"

Turning back to Haruki, he said, "You know…you're a very lovely girl, Sagae-san."

_Present_

And thus ended ten extremely irritating minutes of Isuke's life.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though her parents had every interest in extending this period of time for as long as possible.

"So you guys were roommates at Myoujou? And now you've met again here…" Mama was saying, looking very contemplative.

"Fate! It's gotta be fate!" Papa shouted, eyes practically _sparkling_ with glee.

Isuke had never seen Papa _sparkly _before.

"Destined roommates," Haruki agreed amiably, nodding. "It's kinda sad that we won't get the chance to room together anymore after this."

"Well, there is more than one way to be…'roommates,'"Mama said, and gave Isuke another very pointed look. "More than just classmates and hospital patients share rooms, you know."

_I think I'm beginning to hate you, Mama. _

Haruki, thankfully, seemed oblivious.

"What, like college? That's…probably not for me," she said, laughing sheepishly.

Papa shook his head.

"No, no, not college! Well, college, sure, but—"

"Shinji and I, for example, are roommates," Mama said, and when Haruki frowned, looking vaguely confused, Isuke decided that enough was really quite _enough_.

"Well, it's been lovely, Mama, Papa, but I'm sure you're both so _tired _from your busy days today. Maybe you should go home and rest, hmm?" Isuke said, yanking Papa up and off her bed.

"Oh? But we just got here, Isuke," Mama said, smiling placidly. "Unless, of course, we're bothering you, Sagae-san."

Haruki shook her head, smiling again like the affable idiot she was.

"If bothering me means bringing delicious food and fun conversation, feel free to bother me anytime," she said, chuckling.

Mama turned back to Isuke.

"See? Sagae-san doesn't mind."

"Er, Inukai-san, just Haruki is fine, y'know? 'Sagae-san' reminds me of my mom," Haruki said, with a laugh.

Mama's smile widened, and he nodded slowly.

"In that case, Haruki, please feel free to call me Mama," he said.

Isuke froze, and Haruki blinked.

"…uh…"

"And call me Papa!" Papa declared, taking Haruki's hand again. "And hopefully soon, with any luck, you'll join the fam—"

Papa suddenly fell with a clatter onto his butt, and Isuke quickly leaned down beside him.

"Oh, poor Papa, you're so tired you're falling over by yourself!" she said, steering him towards the door. "You should go home immediately."

"T-that was weird, I could have sworn I felt someone kick me _really _hard and trip me—"

"Wow, and you're hallucinating, on top of that. Poor, poor Papa. Mama, you should really take him home."

"…maybe I should," Mama said, with a wry smile. "I'm terribly sorry for intruding on your _alone_ time with your…roommate, Isuke."

Isuke abruptly stopped pushing her father out the door, but Mama swept by and guided Papa along himself.

"Goodbye, Haruki. It was a pleasure meeting you, and I look forward to seeing you again. Soon," Mama said, with yet another meaningful look at Isuke.

"Definitely. Take care, Inuk—er, dude," Haruki replied. Apparently even an overly friendly idiot like her was unable to bring herself to call him "Mama."

"One last thing, before I go," Mama said, pausing in the doorway.

"And what might that be, Mama?" Isuke replied, sweetly.

Patting her head like he used to do when she was a child, Mama laughed.

"Don't look so agitated, Isuke…it's something that I think you'll like hearing."

_Oh, I highly doubt that_.

"You know, Haruki, Isuke and I are rather similar," Mama began, slowly.

Haruki nodded agreeably.

"Yeah. I can see where Isuke-sama gets her style," she said, grinning.

"Not just style. We're also both very prideful, a little aloof, and maybe a little…difficult, at times. Isuke even moreso than me," Mama continued.

_Where exactly is he going with this…?_

"I was closed off my entire life…until I met Shinji. For the first time in my life, I was suddenly thrown off, suddenly uncertain. For the first time in my life, I started to care."

This was beginning to sound like some cheesy direct-to-DVD romance movie. Mama really wasn't acting like himself, that day.

Though Haruki, for her part, seemed to be listening attentively.

_That idiot is way too nice. It pisses me off 3_

"And you know, after meeting him, for the first time in my life…I actually got a gift for someone else. Selfish, prideful Inukai Is—ahem, Inukai _Eisuke_, getting a gift for someone else."

Isuke went rigid.

"It was just a small present; Peppero, in fact—the Korean version of Pocky. It was a small gift, but I got it for Shinji because he loved eating Peppero, and because I knew he loved it. I hadn't realized it at the time, but this gift was actually my very immature way of showing my affection, since I didn't know how else to go about it. And from there… well, look at us now."

Isuke stared in mingled horror and disbelief as Mama chuckled and waved.

"That's all I have to say. Goodbye, Haruki."

With that, he and Papa both left.

And Isuke stormed after them, slamming the door shut behind her.

"_Mama—"_

"Oh? Why are you following after us, Isuke? And what's gotten you so upset, suddenly?"

"That story just now—"

"Ah! Wasn't it so touching, Isuke? Papa almost cried," Papa said, and actually wiped away a tear.

"_It isn't even true_."

Isuke had never ever heard this story before, and it was so utterly _ridiculous _that she knew for an absolute fact that Mama had made it up on the spot.

"All's fair in love and war, Isuke," Mama said smoothly, with a little shrug. "Haruki seems like the oblivious type to love. Hopefully with this inspirational story, she'll be able to see the hidden meaning behind the gifts you asked us to bring her today."

"Are you stupid, Mama? 3 There _is_ no hidden meaning!"

Mama only seemed to brighten, while Papa beamed.

"Wow, Isuke, I don't think I've ever seen you angry at Mama! And I definitely don't think you've ever called Mama stupid, either! This is _fantastic_! Even talking about Haruki is bringing out all these new emotions in you!"

"I don't think _murderous impulses _are traditionally associated with romance, Papa," Isuke replied, through gritted teeth. She had never before found it so difficult to muster up her usual smile.

"Ah, so irritating! 3 What exactly has gotten into the two of you? You've never acted like this with any of my previous girlfriends or boyfriends, and I'm not even dating Haruki. I'm not even interested in her, you know?"

"Really? Not interested at all? But then why were you blushing when she winked at you?"

"I was _not _blushing—"

"And why were you smiling so softly while you were watching her eat?"

"That was a smirk, Papa, not a smile—"

"Tell me, something, Isuke, and promise you'll answer with one-hundred percent honesty: can you really not think of a single time when Sagae Haruki inexplicably brought about some kind of strange reaction within you?"

Isuke opened her mouth with every intention of angrily retorting—and promptly snapped it shut again.

The kiss on the hand. Walking in on her naked just earlier that day.

Even back at Myoujou when they had first met, and Haruki had locked her arm and examined her nails—Isuke would have gutted anyone else who would have dared to _manhandle _her like that, and yet—

"Nope. Isuke can't. Not at all," she declared, loudly cutting off her own thoughts.

Mama looked at her skeptically while Isuke stared stubbornly at the ground.

"Think about it, Isuke. Mama and Papa are so happy simply because this situation is so strange and unusual for you. With your old boyfriends and girlfriends, you always went after them, because they were what you wanted. And when you got bored of them, you threw them away. You did this all completely freely, carelessly, and shamelessly.

"So why are you so worked up now, if there's nothing special about Haruki?" he said.

Placing a hand gently on Isuke's shoulder, Papa smiled.

"_Something_ is different about Sagae Haruki, Isuke, at least in your eyes, and both Papa and Mama are happy that you've found someone that genuinely interests you. Forgive Mama and Papa for teasing you—of course we're not expecting you to get married to the girl, but she is bringing out the caring side of our cute little daughter that we've only ever seen when you're with us."

Entirely at a loss as to where she could even begin to reply, Isuke had to settle with just mutely rolling her eyes.

Mama, having been watching her quietly, turned to Papa.

"Why don't you go ahead to the car, Shinji? I just want to leave her with a few parting words and give her the souvenirs, and then I'll join you," he said.

Papa nodded, leaning down to kiss Isuke lightly on the forehead.

"We'll be back to visit again soon, okay? Love you, honey."

Isuke grumbled a response, and Papa gave her one last smile before jogging off.

"Isuke."

Looking up, Isuke was taken aback by the sudden solemnity of her mama's dark eyes.

"Isuke, Mama enjoys teasing you just as much as Papa does, if only because you're usually so difficult to tease. But you know…there's only one real reason why Mama was so pleased to meet Sagae Haruki."

Isuke frowned slightly, her annoyance giving way to confusion.

"And what reason is that?"

Mama smiled.

"Sagae Haruki is a good person."

_…__what? Is that it?_

Isuke scoffed, glancing away.

"I know that much, Mama. Too good of a person, if you ask me. Being that good is lame and tiring."

Mama shook his head.

"After having brought you into such a dark, violent world, Isuke…Mama is happy that you've found a good person. That's all."

After patting her lightly on the head again, Mama turned and walked off.

"…_that's _why you put me through these past fifteen minutes?" she called after his retreating back. "I think I'm a little angry with you, Mama! 3"

Mama paused, glancing back and smiling.

"By the way, I left your souvenirs with Haruki. Hopefully they'll make you feel better—they're apparently quite highly reviewed by luxury brand designers. Since Mama is not very good with female fashion, I asked the clerk at a boutique for gift advice…oddly enough, she seemed to be under the impression that I was shopping for my wife."

Shrugging, he continued, "Her smile was rather…suggestive, as she picked things out and assured me that the woman in question would love the gifts. Perhaps you should head back, just in case they turn out to be…inappropriate?"

He smiled almost impishly at his daughter.

Isuke gave him the most baleful look she could manage before turning on her heel and sprinting back to her room.

_If this is Mama and Papa's idea of playing matchmaker, Isuke might just stay single forever 3 _

* * *

Haruki wasn't sure exactly how or when a bag full of lingerie had ended up on her bed.

Slowly, uncertainly, she tugged a long, very frilly and very lacy…string…thing out of the bag.

A price tag of five-hundred American dollars dangled from it.

_Wow…pretty sure the price tag is bigger than the underwear itself._

It took Haruki a moment to realize that dollars were not the same as yen.

_Five hundred…five hundred dollars is—_

Haruki gaped.

This piece of string equal to maybe a week's worth of sandwiches and convenience store bought bento boxes.

This piece of string could probably feed her family for a day or two.

"Unbelievable," she muttered, wondering if the cloth was spun from gold, or something.

Still, the price at least revealed who the bag belonged to.

"So Isuke wears things like this, huh…"

Haruki stared, baffled as to how anyone could even put something like this on.

She tried to picture Isuke wearing it.

Seconds later, she quickly realized that this was a _very _bad idea.

Feeling like her face was suddenly on fire, Haruki reeled at the sudden stream of _images _that were now flashing through her mind.

_Oh, wow…maybe I can see the appeal of this kind of stuff, after all…_

Clearing her throat, Haruki shook her head.

_Whoa, there. Bad girl. This is Isuke-sama we're talking about, here. I really shouldn't be thinking anything weird about my roommate. _

Haruki blinked.

_…__since when am I into girls, anyway?_

_Since your deliciously hot roommate left her bag filled with extremely lacy pink lingerie on your bed, _replied the inner voice in Haruki's head that still kinda sounded like Isuke.

Haruki didn't much like that inner voice, but she had to admit it made a good point now and then.

Isuke was definitely attractive, even from an entirely objective viewpoint. And while Haruki hadn't exactly had the time for dating or anything like that, she could still appreciate attractiveness, right?

_Ah, that reminds me…_

As nice as they were, Isuke's parents had acted kinda weird, and more than a little confusing.

_They seemed really, really happy to meet me…maybe Isuke-sama doesn't have many friends?_

The whole Peppero story that Eisuke had told was particularly strange.

_It was pretty much identical to what Isuke did for me…it's almost as if he was trying to encourage us to get together, or something. _

Haruki promptly snickered at her own thoughts.

No, there was no way. They probably already had some millionaire's son picked out for her. And even if they didn't—

Her phone vibrated, and her smile faded.

_…__and even if they didn't, it's not like I'd ever have a snowball's chance in hell with her, anyway. _

She glanced at her phone—she'd have to answer it, sooner or later—and reached out.

The door slammed open behind her.

Haruki turned away from her phone to see her roommate, panting as she leaned against the doorway.

And when Isuke's amber eyes about tripled in size, Haruki realized belatedly that she was still holding the piece of lingerie.

The two roommates stared at each other in utter silence for about ten painful seconds.

"Y-yo, Isuke-sama. Er…this is some nice underwear," Haruki finally offered, tentatively.

As Haruki would soon find out, this _kinda_ turned out to be the wrong thing to say.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, so like I said, not dark at all, haha. It turned out being almost fluffy, or something. Hope you guys enjoyed! Unfortunately, next chapter, after we finish off this whole lingerie scene, haha, we're going to start getting into the darker stuff.

Thanks for all your feedback on last chapter, including your input on character sexualities. In case you couldn't tell from the dialogue, after rethinking it and then synthesizing what you guys preferred, I decided to pretty much just make them both bi (though Haruki, as was discussed before, has been too busy to think much about romance or whatever till now). If anyone still has problems/disagreements with this, again, feel free to let me know! :)

Something that I noticed from a lot of the reviews and PMs that I received was that quite of few of you seem to be concerned about the possible inclusion of het in this story, lol. I assure you all that the only romance in this story is Haruki x Isuke, haha, but a couple of you seemed especially concerned about the businessman from Chapter 2. I'd like to emphasize that both he and his purpose (which most of you seem to have a few guesses about already) are _supposed_ to be creepy, as he was more or less going to be a significant obstacle/antagonist/creep/villain in this story. I apologize if the idea creeps you guys out, but it's also supposed to creep you guys out, lol. That said, **if it would make you guys feel at all more at ease/comfortable if the villain of this story were changed to a woman, I can totally do that.** **Just please let me know in a review/PM. **I personally don't think that a gender swap would make things any less creepy, but if you guys would prefer that, I'd be happy to comply :) Lemme know, and please feel free to leave feedback, as always! See you next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Chapter 4**

* * *

Quick A/N: Remember, 3s=hearts! Also...this chapter also wasn't as dark as I thought it would be, ahaha. Maybe the story won't be so dark after all? In any event, we'll see how it goes during the next few chapters! Here's Chapter 4! :)

* * *

Haruki wasn't really sure what had happened.

One second, she had been laughing awkwardly on the bed while watching Isuke stare at her from halfway across the room.

The next, she was sprawled out on the bed, nursing her throbbing head while weakly squirming under her roommate's body.

Rewinding the past few milliseconds in her mind, Haruki replayed them slowly, frame by frame.

Isuke had all but pounced from across the room, sprinting with those long legs to Haruki's bedside.

She had then lunged at—

_At what? _

Groaning, Haruki realized that she was still holding onto the lingerie—and finally understood.

Isuke had lunged at her hand, trying to grab the lacy string thing from Haruki's fingers.

Haruki, unaware of her intention, had instinctively dodged back, causing Isuke—whose uninjured hand was still outstretched—to lose her balance and tumble forward—

-onto Haruki, accidentally headbutting her really _really_ hard in the process.

Which led to their current position, in which a dazed Isuke-sama lied in a tangle of limbs atop an equally disoriented Haruki.

…it wasn't a position that Haruki _minded, _per se, considering how warm and soft her roommate's body was on top of her, but she knew Isuke would probably have decidedly different feelings about the situation.

When she recovered from the whole painful head bash, of course.

For the moment, Isuke was just groaning softly, rubbing her head and shifting slightly on top of her.

"I-_idiot_," she hissed, though she sounded more dazed than annoyed. "Why is your head so _hard_?"

"Thick skull," Haruki replied, with a slightly nervous chuckle. Isuke was wearing her usual crop top and mini-skit, having flatly refused to wear the traditional hospital gown from the beginning; this choice of attire left quite a bit of her bare skin exposed.

Bare skin that was in contact with Haruki's own.

Clearing her throat, Haruki lightly patted Isuke's head.

"Sorry, really sorry, Isuke-sama. Want me to get you some ice?"

"Don't touch me," Isuke grumbled, continuing to massage her head. "And why are you apologizing, you idiot? I was the one that fell onto you."

Haruki shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, I probably shouldn't have been going through your underwear. I didn't realize it was yours, at first."

Isuke stiffened very abruptly.

"Y-you…"

Haruki stared curiously down at her roommate as a flush made its way up Isuke's neck.

"I had _just _forgotten about that, and now you…"

Isuke jolted upright, only to then sway and wince at the sudden movement.

Trying not to think about the fact that Isuke was now basically straddling her, Haruki looked up at the other girl in concern.

"You think you have a concussion? Hold on, let me feel—"

"I told you not to _touch _me," Isuke protested weakly, still looking pretty woozy. "I-I'm going to kill you after…after the stupid world stops…spinning…"

Haruki sat up as best she could with Isuke still on top of her, bringing a hand up to Isuke's forehead.

Feeling gently around for any bumps or swelling, Haruki studied Isuke's amber eyes.

_They're pretty unfocused…don't tell me she actually has a concussion…_

"You…I want you…to forget absolutely everything you heard…or saw…this past half hour," Isuke muttered, leaning into Haruki's hand. "Do you understand? Mama and Papa were tired, today. They weren't… thinking properly."

"Sure, Isuke-sama. Whatever you say," Haruki replied, elbowing the button on the bed to call a nurse. "I, uh…think you might have a concussion, Isuke-sama. I—"

"You're going to apologize again, aren't you?" Isuke said, scowling. "Because you're a 'good person.' Well, Isuke doesn't want to hear it."

Stabbing a finger in Haruki's chest, Isuke glared, still swaying slightly.

"You're _too _good of a person, you know. Too selfless. Too kind. You're going to drive yourself crazy, at this rate. Isuke just knows it."

Haruki smiled faintly.

Concussed Isuke was even blunter than the usual Isuke-sama.

"You're acting like you're drunk, Isuke-sama," Haruki said, chuckling. "Is this what a concussion does to you?"

"How…should I know? I've never smashed skulls with someone made of _iron_ like you before. And stop trying to…change the…the subject. You have to learn to be selfish, once in a while. Learn from Isuke," Isuke said, cradling her head in one hand.

Haruki responded with a lopsided grin.

"You're awfully worried about me, you know, for someone's who's supposedly so selfish," she said. "Maybe Isuke-sama's the one who's too nice for her own good."

Isuke scoffed.

"Idiot. It's not like I go around doing this for everyone. I'm just giving _you_ advice, because we're…"

Isuke broke off, looking vaguely puzzled, and Haruki laughed.

"Friends?" she supplied, grinning.

Isuke wrinkled her nose in distaste. "_Friends_. Even the word sounds so…corny," she said, with a toss of her hair. "But, well, fine. I think by now you've proven yourself semi-worthy of Isuke's companionship 3"

Haruki shook her head in amusement, feeling more relaxed than she had all day.

She tugged gently and playfully at one of Isuke's carefully curled locks, drawing an indignant protest from the other girl.

Haruki's grin widened.

"Thanks, Isuke-sama," she said, her usual tone softening with a wave of affection for her roommate.

Weirdly enough, it seemed like the times she spent chatting with Isuke were probably the most peaceful and enjoyable moments of the day. Especially recently, since seeing Fuyuka and Aki and the others only reminded her of her mom in the hospital, and then seeing Mom reminded her of—

"You've been zoning out a lot lately," Isuke said, waving a hand in front of Haruki's face. "Does this have anything to do with that weird job of yours that you won't tell me about?"

All of this, Haruki realized, was Isuke's way of showing concern. The advice, the light prodding, the banter. She had done it before, too, at Myoujou. Right before Haruki had gone to try and assassinate Haru.

Feeling that same wave of warmth and appreciation for the other girl, Haruki chuckled softly, leaned forward, and swiftly captured her friend in a tight, one-armed embrace.

Isuke let out a very un-Isuke-like squeak of surprise as Haruki pulled her to her chest, and Haruki realized kind of belatedly that Isuke-sama probably wasn't exactly the type to appreciate a hug, even as a sign of affection.

_Ah, well. Everyone needs hugs once in a while. And it's probably been a pretty long while for Isuke-sama. _

Expectedly, Isuke began to wriggle almost immediately, squirming around in Haruki's lap like an agitated child.

"Wha—what do you think you're _doing_?" Isuke demanded, craning her neck to glare up at Haruki.

"It's called a hug, Isuke-sama," Haruki explained with a laugh.

"I _know_ that much," Isuke snarled, still struggling ineffectually. "What do you think you're doing giving one to me?"

Haruki sighed contentedly, more or less unaffected by her roommate's displeasure.

"'Cause I like you, Isuke-sama."

Isuke's struggling stopped abruptly, only to immediately start up again within seconds.

"That's not—_you're_ not—what do you think you're even—"

The tips of Isuke's ears, Haruki noticed, had become very red.

"If you really hate it so much, break out of it," Haruki said, patting her friend's back. "I never really got to see your combat skills, Isuke-sama."

"That's what I'm _trying _to do, you idiot," Isuke snapped, scowling. "You just have superhuman strength!"

Her face was scarlet, and Haruki frowned when she wondered if this color was from physical exertion.

Even Isuke couldn't be _that _embarrassed by a hug, after all.

"Do you really hate it?" Haruki asked, looking down at her roommate with concern. "Ah, sorry, Isuke-sama. I didn't think you really wanted to escape."

Haruki let her go immediately.

Isuke didn't move.

Peering bemusedly down at her, Haruki patted her shoulder.

"Isuke-sama? Are you mad at me? I'm really sorry, I didn't mean any ha—"

"Idiot."

Haruki stopped, wondering if she had imagined her roommate's interruption.

But then Isuke looked up, and Haruki was startled to see that her face was still flushed.

Looking confused and strangely uneasy, Isuke averted her eyes and frowned.

"I told you not to apologize so much to me." Bringing a hand to her head, she continued in a near-mumble, "It's not…it's not that I hated it, exactly, so…don't apologize."

Haruki stared at her roommate openly and unabashedly.

"Heh…"

Within seconds, Haruki was laughing, pulling Isuke in for another hug.

_That…was actually kinda really cute. _

Though Isuke, apparently, didn't agree, grumbling darkly into Haruki's collar: "Ugh, gross. This isn't like me at all. And this is all your fault. Your stupid hard head gave me this horrible headache that's making it impossible to think straight."

"Right, right. Sorry, Isuke-sama. The nurse should be here soon to take a look."

As if on cue, the door opened and a nurse stepped in. Seconds later, she went scarlet and began to rapidly backpedal immediately afterwards.

"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry! I thought I saw the call light go on, I swear I didn't mean to interrupt! I'll leave you two to—"

"Wait, wait!" Haruki waved her the nurse down, shaking her head. "It's not—we're just sitting together. We're not—er, she just kinda ended up in my lap. Nothing's going on."

At the nurse's doubtful stare, Haruki smiled sheepishly.

"Actually, I kind of called because my roommate and I ended up sort of…crashing heads, and now I think she might have a concussion. Mind checking it out?"

The nurse, thankfully, was all professionalism and efficiency in an instant, calling for a doctor before moving to the bedside and staring critically down at Isuke.

"Hmm…she does seem a little dazed. Still, I doubt a headbutt is enough to cause a concussion. She probably just needs to rest for a little bit," the nurse said, and then placed a hand firmly under Isuke's arm.

"Can you stand, Inukai-san? Let's get you over to your bed so the doctor can take a look at you, okay?" she said, coaxingly.

Though Haruki knew that Isuke usually wasn't exactly the type to be very easily coaxed, she seemed too disoriented to do anything but comply.

Haruki shivered slightly at the loss of the warmth of Isuke's body, and scooted over to give Isuke room to more easily maneuver off of the bed.

Shifting slowly off of Haruki's lap, Isuke's moved her legs—and as she did so, her knee applied pressure directly against the inside of Haruki's thigh.

Directly against the gash that Haruki had only barely managed to hide from Isuke earlier that day.

_Shit_.

Haruki couldn't stifle the hiss of pain that escaped through her gritted teeth.

Couldn't suppress the grimace that twisted her expression.

And Isuke, to Haruki's dread, seemed to notice both.

Isuke shifted her knee away immediately, and, brows lowered and eyes narrowed, looked up to directly meet Haruki's gaze.

"Haruki, what—"

"Inukai-san?" the nurse interrupted, apparently oblivious to the entire exchange. "Are you ready to move?"

"Please shut up for a second, Seta-san 3," Isuke said, glancing at the nurse's nametag, before turning back to Haruki. "You…what was that, just now?"

Haruki opened her mouth, a thousand excuses and lies flying to the tip of her tongue.

And then her phone vibrated again, and she wasn't sure whether this made everything better or a thousand times worse.

She immediately swung down off the bed, grabbing her phone and getting to her feet.

"S-sorry, Isuke-sama, gotta take this call. Be good and don't the nurse a hard time, okay?" Haruki said, sidestepping around the bewildered nurse as she made her way to the door.

"Haruki, wait a second, you idiot—"

Isuke winced, stumbling forward and sagging against the nurse in what Haruki guessed was a wave of nausea.

Haruki froze, her first instinct being to immediately turn back and help her friend up. To make sure she was all right, readjust her sling, and ease her onto the bed.

But her phone vibrated again, and something far more powerful than instinct took hold of her.

This was for her family. And for family, she always said—

Her phone vibrated again, and Haruki closed her eyes, repeating the mantra that had kept her going since her mother had first been hospitalized all those years ago:

For family, she would do anything.

"Sorry, Isuke," she repeated, softly, and turned away to open the door.

Her roommate's voice stopped her, for the briefest moment.

"Just…remember what I said. At least _try _to listen to what Isuke told you, okay?"

Haruki could almost hear Isuke's usual smile in her voice, while she could definitely hear the irritation and agitation under this forced veneer.

"I'll try," Haruki said, without looking back.

_But no promises. _

She snapped her phone open and brought it to her ear the second the door was shut behind her.

"Hello?"

There was a long silence on the other end, a silence that Haruki used to jog down the hall, getting as far away from her room as possible.

"…are you avoiding my calls?"

Ren's voice was soft, almost silky, as always.

Haruki had quickly learned to go beyond this velvety surface, to read tones and undercurrents if she really wanted to know the older woman's true feelings and moods.

Right now, the process was fairly simply, and the outcome even more so.

Ren was angry. Furious, even.

And Haruki knew very well why.

"No, of course not," she replied, chancing a glance back to make sure that Isuke hadn't followed her out into the hall. "I was just in the shower when you called earlier. Sorry."

There was another long silence, one that was finally broken by a quiet sigh.

"I've paid your mother's hospital bills for this month," Ren said, and Haruki leaned back against the wall, feeling a surge of relief.

"Thanks. Thank you so much," she said, with the sincerest positive feelings that she could and would ever express to this woman. "Then they'll continue giving her the medication?"

"I had to pay quite a bit extra, since the bills had been stacking up for a few months now," Ren replied, coolly. "But yes, it's been taken care of. Your dear mother will be fine."

Haruki slid down against the wall, letting out a rush of air as she ran a hand shakily through her hair.

_Thank God_.

It was all worth it, then. Everything—if it just continued as it was, then this could work.

She took in a deep breath.

She could handle this much.

"I want to see you," Ren said, and suddenly her voice was even softer, a near purr.

Haruki paled, and she felt her gut churn in discomfort.

"We were just together this morning," she said, and felt the gash across her inner thigh sting even at the memory.

"And now I want to see you again. Our agreement said _anytime _during the weekend, didn't it?"

Clenching her teeth, Haruki massaged her temples and nodded, even though she knew Ren couldn't see her.

"…yeah. Of course. Sorry, I forgot," she muttered, hoping none of the emotions that she was feeling leaked into her tone.

Ren was angry enough already.

"You're forgetting a lot of things, recently, aren't you? Just like how you forgot to mention how Inukai Isuke is your roommate."

Haruki was momentarily startled out of her agitation.

"What? You know Isuke-sa—ah, you know Isuke?" Haruki asked, only barely managing to catch herself in time.

She didn't want to imagine Ren's reaction if she ever found out Haruki addressed Isuke with –_sama_, even if it wasn't seriously.

Ren's answering laughter was unexpected.

"Oh certainly. At the very least, I know Saitou Akio-san, the son of the Saitou Conglomerate's CEO. I know Hanegawa Aoi, the daughter of a wealthy oil tycoon. I know Daichi, and Haruka, and Yuki-san. In fact, I know _many_ young men and women who have…_known _Inukai Isuke. Many young men and women who she toyed with and then cruelly tossed aside."

Haruki frowned, silent.

Why the heck was Ren suddenly telling her this?

Isuke was Haruki's friend; it wasn't like Haruki was going to look at her roommate any differently just because of any relationship history.

"While I know you're too smart to get involved with that whore…"

Haruki's fingers twitched at the insult, curling down into fists. She bit down hard on her lip to prevent the immediate urge to retort and defend her friend.

This whole damn thing was abrupt and weird as hell. Ren was purposefully baiting her, for some unknown reason; answering rashly would be stupid, and send Haruki falling right into whatever trap she was laying out.

"…I thought I should warn you all the same. That girl has a certain…_reputation_."

Haruki rolled her eyes. A reputation among gossip-mongering old housewives with nothing better to do, maybe.

"Haven't you ever seen the way she dresses, Haruki?"

_Of course I do. Every day. And I have to say…I kinda really like it. Except when my siblings are over, 'cause then Aki begins to stare a bit too much, and he's still pretty young for that kind of thing…_

"I know you're a kind girl, and I just don't want to see you getting hurt, my dear," Ren murmured, and Haruki almost laughed out loud.

_Ren _didn't want to see Haruki getting hurt.

Right. That was why her thigh and about a dozen other places were still aching and stinging at that very moment.

But of course she couldn't say any of this, so Haruki just let out a soft laugh and replied, "Thanks for your concern. I'll be careful."

"…good. Then, I'll come and pick you up in the usual spot in about…fifteen minutes. Be ready."

She hung up before Haruki could even respond.

…not that Haruki would have, anyway, considering she didn't even have a choice as to what she could say.

Anything other than "yes" would displease Sanada Ren. And this was something Haruki really couldn't afford to do.

When she finally got to her feet, her legs suddenly felt stiff and leaden.

She made her way slowly back to her room, feeling as though she were sleepwalking.

It always felt this way, after Ren called.

She slowly pushed the door open, uneasy.

But Isuke, to her mingled surprise and relief, appeared to be sleeping when Haruki peeked into the room.

_Guess the headbutt really took a toll on her, _she thought, shuffling over to her roommate's bedside.

Back at Myoujou Academy, Isuke had had a tendency to fall asleep in more or less every single lecture. This had given Haruki plenty of opportunities to learn that Isuke almost looked like a completely different person when she was sleeping.

Her expression was calm, almost soft; it was the only time Haruki ever saw the other girl's appear open and unguarded.

The sight made Haruki smile even now.

"The usual Isuke-sama is awesome, of course, but this hidden side is cute, too," she murmured, gently ruffling the other girl's bangs.

Haruki blinked when she felt something cold, and then winced slightly when she noticed the ice pack that had been set on Isuke's forehead.

"Sorry," she said, very quietly, and moved to adjust the pack.

That was when she noticed that her hand was shaking.

She stuffed her hand into her pocket, curling her fingers into a fist and clenching, hoping to stop the damn trembling.

It didn't work, of course.

It was never that easy.

"Hey, Isuke-sama…I really want to take your advice, you know. I've always wanted to," she confessed to her sleeping friend. "But, you know…"

Haruki glanced back at the picture that always stood within arm's reach of her bed. Fuyuka, Mom, Aki, and all the rest…

"I can't. It's just…impossible, you know? I can't."

* * *

_Well, why can't you?_

Isuke had known for quite some time now that _something_ was going on with Haruki.

The mysterious job was one thing, but the uncharacteristic spacey-ness and skittishness, compounded with the way she had flinched and reacted when Isuke had accidentally pushed down against her leg—something was definitely wrong with her stupid roommate, and the idiot was probably being too noble and _nice _to tell Isuke about it.

So Isuke had decided to feign sleep for the purpose of finding out what this big secret was. And also because while her thoughts had cleared up significantly, she was still kind of dizzy from the stupid headbutt and could use the rest.

She had expected Haruki to come back from her phone call and then maybe head out for her strange job again; if Haruki thought Isuke was asleep, it would be much easier to tail her and figure out where and what exactly she was going to "work."

What she hadn't expected was for Haruki to come in and start _talking _to her, all while clearly thinking Isuke was sound asleep.

(Nor had she expected Haruki to tousle her hair as if she was some _child_. It had taken quite a bit of Isuke's self-control not to scowl or jerk away from her touch).

Isuke had thought that the talking would make things easier, somewhat. If she was lucky, Haruki could end up spilling her secret right then and there, saving her the trouble of following her like some kind of stalker.

However, what Isuke also hadn't expected was her burning desire to reply to everything her stupid roommate said.

_Why can't you stop_? Isuke fumed inwardly, trying to keep her face as neutral as possible. _Just break yourself free already. _

"I won't take your advice. I really can't. Not completely. But…I think I will be selfish, just this once, Isuke-sama."

Isuke almost jerked in surprise when she suddenly felt Haruki's hand on her face.

_What the heck is she doing _now_?_

Haruki's hand felt strange on Isuke's skin. The tips of her fingers were rough with calluses, and yet her palms were soft and smooth.

Isuke went utterly still as Haruki's thumb brushed slowly over Isuke's cheek.

"You said I should be selfish once in a while…so this is okay, right, Isuke-sama?"

Haruki's voice was suddenly by her ear, and Isuke could feel the warm puffs of air as she spoke.

She couldn't help but shiver.

_This idiot, this idiot, this absolute idiot, what does she think she's doing?_

"I need…to charge, Isuke-sama. For enough energy to get through these next few hours."

Then, a soft, very familiar sensation positively burned Isuke's hands.

Haruki had kissed them again.

Desperately fighting down the blush that threatened to blow her entire act, Isuke stayed resolutely still.

Haruki's _stupid_ hand fetish aside, something was definitely very wrong here. Isuke's friendly, perpetually relaxed idiot of a roommate was not supposed to be this serious.

"…I'll be back soon, Isuke-sama. Don't…don't go anywhere. Please."

The faint rustle of cloth and the click of a door later, Haruki was gone.

Isuke immediately got to her feet, snatching her phone up off the dresser and grabbing her jacket.

This was ridiculous.

Even as she ran out the door, looking around for Haruki's easily recognizable red hair, Isuke couldn't believe she was actually planning on _stalking _someone.

It was creepy, and weird, and utterly unlike her.

And yet—

Isuke flushed at the memory of the hug, and even the sensation of Haruki's lips against her palm that she had felt barely a minute ago.

And both her stupid Mama and her dumb Papa's irritating voices echoed in her mind.

"_Sagae Haruki is a good person."_

Yes, Sagae Haruki definitely was a good person.

A good person who couldn't be trusted to take care of herself properly. Which was why Isuke had to take care of the idiot, or otherwise see Haruki drive herself half-crazy while sacrificing everything for that family of hers.

And…

"_Something is different about Sagae Haruki…at least in your eyes."_

Isuke rolled her eyes, glared at nothing in particular, and then chased after Haruki's distantly bobbing ponytail.

Though Isuke would never, ever admit this to either of them…

…it seemed both her Mama and her Papa had been right, after all.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the delay! I started my summer internship this week, which unfortunately meant much less leisure time.

In case you hadn't noticed, I did change the villain from a man to a woman, and, as per an awesome guest reviewer's interesting request/suggestion, I kept the name "Ren Sanada" since, as this guest says, "I think that by keeping the name Ren, which is mostly a man's name, and making her a woman, it would make her like an evil, older version of Isuke."

I also changed chapter 2, if you guys haven't seen it yet, to accommodate this switch in gender. It seems like most people wanted the gender flip, so here it is! :)

Uh...so do you guys remember the whole waxing/waning motivation thing? So, as I mentioned, I started my internship, and though I really love it so far, it's a lot of work. And when I'm tired after working a lot, I tend to just kinda eat/sleep/do stupid aimless things instead of writing. Though I certainly hope this won't be the case, if you do notice updates slowing significantly, and if slow updates really bother you, please feel free to yell at me to get my butt in gear and write the next chapter. But hopefully this won't be necessary! IsukexHaruki is too damn cute to lose interest in, after all.

Also, some people have been asking me about other fics I wrote/fic recommendations and the like. I'm sorry to say that I'm very new to the whole fanfiction thing. This is the only fanfic I've ever written (because Isuke/Haruki is too cute to resist), and I've only ever read literally two other fanfics, both very recently. I do recommend both of these wholeheartedly, if you guys haven't read them yet: Compromise by Escape Trampoline (So so so so cute. Takechi fans rejoice) and Perfect Posture by Moczo (it's hilarious). The first is an Akuma no Riddle fanfic, the second is a Frozen/Brave fic (I think I enjoyed Frozen a million times more than my 5-year old niece, haha. And I still can't stop rewatching, even months later). Both fics are exceedingly excellent! Other than that, I really have limited knowledge of fanfic recs, haha, so I'm sorry that I can't be of much help. On the other hand, if you guys have a fic that you'd like to recommend to me, haha, please feel free to PM me! :)

Oh, and one last thing! Someone told me that apparently people have been mentioning this fic on tumblr? I don't have an account (I can barely keep up with Facebook as it is, haha) and I don't quite get how it works, but thank you very much to those people who blogged about it! :) I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

Well then, as always, please lemme know what you guys thought! :) Until next time!

* * *

**Chapter 5: Chapter 5**

* * *

WARNING: Remember the stuff I said about mature content back in chapter 2? It applies here, mostly for the section from Haruki's POV. Please proceed with caution.

* * *

In the back of a shady alleyway behind an even shadier looking building, a shiny black limo rolled up to the curb where Haruki stood, waiting.

Concealed by both shadows and an absolutely disgusting dumpster, Isuke watched in baffled disbelief as a chauffeur opened the door and bowed to her roommate.

_…__what kind of job is this?_

As she had followed Haruki from the hospital and through the rest of the city, Isuke had considered the various occupations that Haruki could possibly have.

Taking into consideration both Haruki's unwillingness to talk about the job and the shadier parts of the city Isuke now found herself in, she had expected Haruki's employer to be someone seedy, creepy, and of course easily disposed of with the use of her knuckle knives.

The limousine threw all of these expectations out the window.

A limo meant money, which meant bodyguards, protection, and a million other unanticipated complications.

The entire situation had become way more irritatingly difficult than Isuke would have liked.

Isuke frowned, watching as Haruki slid into the car.

The chauffeur closed the door behind her.

Feeling an irrational spike of panic at the fact that she was no longer able to see her roommate, Isuke straightened and began to inch out of the alley as the limo began to move.

The moment the limo was a decent distance away, Isuke leapt over the dumpster, spotting a taxi waiting on the street.

She also spotted the man that was about to get into and steal said taxi.

_Ahh, nope. That just won't do 3, _she decided, breaking into a sprint.

As she ran, Isuke briefly considered talking to the man and politely requesting that he let her have the taxi. She had quite the wealth of experience in getting what she wanted from stupid men, after all, and this process would be probably take only a few more seconds than what she already had in mind.

But these few seconds would take her roommate farther and farther away, making everything even more problematic for her.

So, to save on time and trouble, Isuke decided to go with her original plan: driving her elbow into the man's solar plexus, she left him choking and gasping on the ground as she entered the taxi.

Shutting the door, Isuke smiled at the gawking driver.

"Good afternoon 3. I need you to follow that limousine for me," she said, indicating the limo with a finger.

Instead of stepping on the gas as Isuke needed him to, the man just continued to gawk like some bovine idiot.

_Oh, right. I forgot the magic words, _Isuke realized belatedly.

Tearing her knuckle knife from her belt, Isuke pressed it against his neck and said, "I need you to follow that limousine for me, or else I'll _slit open your throat_ 3"

Isuke (usually) didn't mean these threats when she used them. She hated blood, after all.

But they always proved very effective; far more effective than the "magic words" she had learned in elementary school, anyway.

To prove her point, the man let out a terrified and wimpy little squeak before slamming his foot down on the accelerator and speeding out onto the road, way faster than he would have if Isuke had used "please" or "thank you."

Flicking her knife back so the man could breathe a little more easily, Isuke frowned.

More importantly…

_What could Haruki be involved in that involves someone wealthy enough to drive around in a limo? Not even Mama and Papa have limos. _

Maybe the Yakuza?

Isuke frowned and shook her head.

Hired muscle would have been a possibility, if it weren't for the fact that Haruki's arm was still healing. The Yakuza wouldn't hire someone who was half-crippled.

Besides, a hired grunt wouldn't be picked up in a limousine.

_What service could a high school girl with a broken arm possibly offer some filthy rich millionaire? _

_Most physical activity is out of the question, except maybe…_

Isuke went utterly still.

_The only physical activity possible for someone in Haruki's state, and the only activity that some rich client would be interested in—_

She felt the color drain from her face.

Gritting her teeth, she unconsciously tightened her grip on her knife.

Ignoring the way the man trembled in fear, she gave her head another violent shake, hardly even noticing the nausea that followed this movement.

"No, no. That's impossible. She wouldn't…"

Haruki was an idiot, but she wasn't _that _much of an idiot. Even she had enough pride to at least—

_"If it's for family, I'll do anything."_

Isuke brought a hand to her temple, mind racing.

Someone as stupidly noble and self-sacrificing as Haruki, who obviously hated killing and the assassination business, _must_ have tried other things, before she finally turned to murder as a last resort.

_If she could choose between assassination and something else; between hurting herself and hurting someone else… _

There was no question as to which option that idiot would pick.

"E-excuse me, m-miss…the car's stopped."

Isuke's head snapped up, and she felt her stomach drop when she saw the hotel the limousine had pulled up to.

A rich client. An attractive young woman. And now a hotel.

Isuke fell back against the car seat, and she knew that the nausea she suddenly felt this time wasn't from any concussion.

_Haruki…you can't be serious._

Her knife trembled in her hand, her blood went cold, and her stomach rolled with a thousand different emotions that she currently didn't have the time or capacity to recognize.

For the first time in as long as she could remember, Isuke was stunned into dumb inactivity.

Her mind was blank, entirely numb with shock.

Outside, the chauffeur opened the limousine door, and Haruki stepped out onto the sidewalk.

Drawn, pale, and stiff with tension; Isuke had never seen her roommate look that way before.

A hand reached out to touch Haruki's shoulder, and Isuke automatically shifted her gaze to settle on no one other than Sanada Ren.

If Isuke had had any remaining doubts as to what the nature of Haruki's "job" was, they were all eliminated the moment Ren leaned down, wrapped her arms around Haruki's waist, and kissed her.

In that moment, Isuke couldn't hear anything over the roaring in her ears, couldn't feel anything other than the pounding in her chest, and couldn't see anything other than Haruki, standing rigid and visibly tense in Ren's arms.

_Haruki's selling herself._

Putting her realization into words didn't help Isuke piece her thoughts together in the least. If anything, they staggered her all over again, leaving her incapable of forming coherent thoughts, let alone any plans of action.

Haruki was selling herself to Sanada Ren.

The secrecy, the nervousness, the frequent showers and phone calls…they were all linked together to this one job.

All of Haruki's behavior began to make sense.

But even as Isuke's brain was slowly beginning to put together the logic and reason behind it all, her emotions were on a wildly different path.

Isuke had never killed out of anger before.

Above all, Mama had taught her the value of pragmatism. An assassin had to be practical and ruthless, never letting his emotions get the better of him.

Emotions, especially feelings like rage or sadness, clouded one's judgment and impaired one's thinking.

All of these lessons echoed faintly in the very back of Isuke's mind.

Tightening her grip on her knife, she utterly ignored them.

She focused instead on one thing alone: sinking her dagger into Sanada Ren's back.

Her hand dropped down to the taxi door's handle, and she pressed her heel against the bottom, ready to kick it open.

Outside, Haruki began to walk towards the hotel entrance, following after Ren.

But strangely, seeing Haruki's face again, ashen and strained as it was, gave Isuke pause.

And this pause gave her mind a moment to catch up to her emotions, time enough to reassess the situation.

Haruki didn't want to be here. That much was obvious. Her body language, her expressions, and even the pallor of her skin expressed her discomfort even more clearly than any words could.

Her agitation, tiredness, and dazedness for the last few days, as well as her reticence on the subject whenever it came up only reinforced the idea that Haruki wouldn't have done this unless she thought that she absolutely had to.

_Utterly stupid, completely self-sacrificing _idiot.

The knife in Isuke's hand twitched, still begging to be used.

Violently suppressing her rising anger and desire to give in to these emotions, Isuke took a deep, calming breath.

Just for now, before she acted, Isuke _had_ to focus on solely the facts of the matter.

Haruki didn't want to be here, but Haruki _was_ here, most probably selling her body to this wretched old bitch for the sake of her family.

Haruki was at Ren's beck and call, running out of the hospital as soon as she had received the phone call.

Closing her eyes, Isuke let a sigh rush out through gritted teeth.

Those were the facts of the matter as they stood now.

_But what would happen if I walked out of this taxi right now and stabbed Sanada Ren in the throat?_

Sanada Ren was a very important client for both Papa and Mama. Sanada Ren was rich enough to completely ruin both her and her family forever.

Sanada Ren had the power to completely destroy or sustain Haruki's family.

Isuke inexplicably found herself only really caring about this last fact.

Haruki was doing what she was doing for the sake of her family; for her mother in the hospital and her many siblings.

She was an absolute _idiot _who was sacrificing literally everything she had for them, but she was also _choosing_ to do all of this.

She was choosing to be utterly selfless.

If Isuke got out of this taxi and did anything to Ren, she would ruin all the results of this selflessness.

Without giving Haruki a choice in the matter, Isuke would unravel everything Haruki had been working on in order to support her family.

Isuke ground her teeth in frustration.

_How pathetic. _

Haruki was the one suffering, and yet Isuke was the one unable to handle it.

She threw the knife down onto the floor of the car, passing a hand slowly over her eyes.

She watched Haruki disappear into the hotel with Ren.

A long silence passed before Isuke slowly turned to the driver.

"Drive me back to where I was," she said.

Her voice came out raw, hoarse, and unsteady.

Sinking down in her seat, Isuke stared dully out the window as the car started up again.

At the very least…Isuke had to talk to Haruki before she did anything.

No matter how she felt or what emotions she experienced, doing something like that would be stupid. It would be illogical. It would be…

"Stop the car."

_The wounds. _

Isuke brought a hand to her throbbing temples; the pain had reminded her of something else:

Haruki had jerked and hissed in pain when Isuke had accidentally pressed her knee down against her leg.

_Was that also because of…?_

Isuke's pulse, which had only just begun to calm down, immediately started hammering again.

_Haruki was hurt. _

There were very few people who could possibly have hurt her. Even with a broken arm, Haruki was still strong enough to put up a major fight against anyone who tried to touch her.

The only way she could've been hurt was if she _let _someone hurt her, because she had no choice.

The only person in that kind of position had to be…

Kicking open the door, Isuke ran out onto the sidewalk and up the hotel's walkway.

Yes, she was being stupid, and illogical, and utterly unlike herself.

But she always seemed to act uncharacteristically whenever Haruki was involved, and she was hardly going to stop now.

Thinking of the way Haruki's face had twisted in pain, Isuke quickened her pace and fingered the second set of knives in her belt.

_You'd better be okay, you idiot. _

* * *

Haruki heard the crack of bone even before she felt any pain.

When the pain did come, she bit down on her lip to keep from making a single noise.

She wouldn't give Ren the satisfaction.

Not for this.

"Look at what you've made me do, Haruki. I hate this; I don't want to hurt you, don't you understand?"

Ren was whispering into her ear, caressing the skin of Haruki's newly broken arm.

Haruki shuddered, forcing a tight-lipped smile.

"Nah, I can't say I do," she muttered, with a harsh laugh.

Ren's nails dug into her skin, and Haruki closed her eyes before she could see the blood well up.

A sharp, stabbing pain lanced through her arm; her entire body ached.

"I love you, don't you know that by now? I only want the best for you. If you would just listen to me, I wouldn't have to hurt you like this," Ren murmured, rubbing slow circles on her back.

Haruki didn't reply, focusing instead on blocking out the pain.

"Now, let's try this once more. When you get back to the hospital, will you or will you request a transfer into a separate room?" Ren asked, threading her fingers through Haruki's hair.

Taking in a slow, shuddering breath, Haruki opened her eyes again.

"Look, just tell me this: why are you so against my rooming with Isuke?"

Ren's eyes darkened.

"I told you already. That girl is bad news. I don't want to see you hurt," she said, tightening her grip on Haruki's arm.

"If I get hurt, then I get hurt," Haruki replied, wincing at the persistently shooting pain. "It doesn't affect you in the least."

"That dirty _slut_ is a bad influence," Ren said, getting to her feet. "I don't want to see you corrupted. Answer me now, Haruki. Will you or will you not switch rooms?"

Haruki knew she was being stupid with her repeated refusals.

Ren was violent and unstable enough when she was in a good mood. Blatantly defying her was suicidal.

But Ren was telling her to stop rooming with Isuke.

By now, Haruki knew Ren. Not rooming with Isuke also meant not speaking with her, not seeing her, and not interacting with her at all.

For whatever reason, Ren wanted Haruki to cut Isuke completely out of her life.

And something like that…was impossible.

"…if you really don't want to listen, then that's fine," Ren said, breaking the silence with her velvety voice. "Why don't you go crawling to Inukai Isuke, then, instead of me? See if she can do everything that I do for you."

Leaning down, Ren smiled.

"It would be interesting to see how long your mother lasted," she whispered.

Haruki went rigid.

Those words never failed to have their intended effect.

Because in that moment, because of those words, more than anything else, Haruki was afraid.

Her mother couldn't survive without Ren's help. Without that endless supply of money, at this point, it was impossible.

_If Mom died because I was too selfish to just…_

Forcing herself upright and ignoring the pain that shot through her body, Haruki looked up at Ren and shook her head.

"No, wait…I…I'm sorry."

Ren arched a brow, waiting, and Haruki grimaced.

"…I'll put in a request to switch rooms as soon as I get back."

At least for now…Haruki just had to agree. She would figure everything out later. But for now, she had to keep Ren happy.

No matter what.

Ren nodded, smiling again. She lowered herself onto the bed, settling beside Haruki.

"That was all you needed to do, my dear. Simple, no?" she said, tugging at Haruki's collar.

"…yeah. Of course."

Haruki automatically fell back onto the bed as Ren pushed her down.

"Now, with that whore out of the way…let's get started on more pleasurable activities, shall we?"

Haruki took another slow, steadying breath.

…she would usually think about her family, during these times.

But for some reason, this time she found herself thinking of no one other than the very girl she was forbidden from seeing anymore.

Closing her eyes, Haruki thought of Isuke's face, Isuke's voice, and the warmth of Isuke's body against her own.

* * *

It was well past midnight by the time Haruki made it back to the hospital room.

Taking in rasping, painful breaths, she slowly and carefully pushed open the door.

The lights were thankfully off, and Isuke appeared to be sound asleep in her bed.

Letting out a weak sigh of relief, Haruki stumbled to her bedside and yanked the sling off her broken arm.

The pain was sharp and insistent.

She wasn't sure if Ren had broken it in a new location, or had simply broken the same already damaged area. Whatever the case, her arm was again bent at a strange, unnatural angle.

She would have to get it set again, somehow without getting the doctors to ask questions and without Isuke noticing any—

_…__oh, right. I guess I won't have to worry about keeping anything secret from Isuke anymore, _she realized.

If she kept her promise to Ren, she wouldn't be seeing her roommate at all anymore.

Swallowing hard, Haruki shook her head.

She would find a way around it, somehow.

Turning around to face her sleeping roommate, Haruki stared into the darkness.

"…I'm not giving you up, Isuke-sama. I can't."

Isuke was her friend. No matter what Ren said—

The lights turned on.

Haruki froze, thoughts sputtering to a stop.

She turned her head to see Isuke gazing right back at her, her fingers resting on the light switch.

And when Isuke's eyes dropped downward, pausing to rest on Haruki's arm, Haruki—

Haruki didn't do anything.

She couldn't do anything.

All of her prepared excuses, lies, and explanations died the moment Isuke looked at her.

As her mind frantically scrambled for something, _anything _to say, Haruki took a shaky, uncertain step backwards.

"T-This…Isuke-sama, I-I didn't know you were still up. I, uh, got into a bit of an accident at work, and…and, so…"

Isuke was unnervingly silent, her countenance entirely blank.

When she finally spoke, it was in a quiet, toneless, utterly un-Isuke-like voice: "I have a doctor waiting outside for you. He's here to set the bone. He won't ask any questions, and I've already paid him, so just sit still and wait for a second."

Haruki widened her eyes, feeling sweat break out on her brow.

"H-how—how did you already know that my arm was—"

The door behind her opened, and a doctor shuffled into the room.

Haruki barely even registered any of the pain during the bone-setting procedure, reeling in shock at her roommate's appearance, words and behavior.

Isuke knew.

How she knew, or how much she knew, Haruki didn't know.

But Isuke had known enough to prepare a doctor in advance, and this knowledge coupled with her strange quietness meant that she had to know _something_ about Ren.

Haruki bit back a curse as the doctor finished up the job, both from pain and panic.

Isuke couldn't know anything.

Even a little was too much.

The second the doctor left, Haruki turned back to her roommate.

"I-Isuke-sama, thanks so much for the doctor. But how'd you know I got hurt? It was something small and dumb, really, on the way back from work—"

"Is that where you were until now? Work?" Isuke interrupted, seating herself on the edge of Haruki's bed.

Haruki nodded, more and more disconcerted by Isuke's behavior.

"I was kept a little late today since I—"

"How'd that happen to your arm?"

Haruki floundered for an excuse.

"I—I just…I slipped and fell—"

"You fell," Isuke repeated flatly.

Flushing, Haruki averted her gaze.

"I fell onto my arm, and since it was already broken, it…it just…" Haruki trailed off and grimaced.

Isuke was running her hand slowly over her face, eyes tightly shut.

"You can't even lie properly," she muttered.

Opening her eyes, Isuke looked directly up at Haruki and said, "And it's because someone like you shouldn't have to lie. Someone like you…an _idiot_ like you…you were meant for an honest life. Not a life like this."

Haruki watched her roommate carefully and warily, only further confused by her words.

"…Isuke-sa—"

"Take off your clothes."

"W-what?"

"I know you have wounds all over your body, Haruki. Take off your clothes so I can do something about them. Knowing you, they probably haven't even been disinfected yet," Isuke said, and Haruki then noticed the rolls of gauze and ointments scattered on the dresser.

But none of that was important.

"You…you know?"

Haruki went white.

"H-how…how much do you know?" she asked slowly, dreading the answer.

Isuke's eyes dropped down to the ground.

"Everything," she said.

* * *

Isuke saw the wide-eyed panic and anxiety written all over Haruki's face and quickly looked away, her gut twisting painfully inside her.

Even now, Isuke was sure that Haruki was more worried about the fact that Isuke knew about her situation than she was about the situation itself.

The other girl reached out with her uninjured arm, resting a hand uncertainly on Isuke's shoulder.

"What do you mean, Isuke? What…what do you—"

Anger spiked at the concern in that tone.

Haruki wasn't in the position to be concerned about other people. She didn't have the luxury to be any more stupidly selfless.

"I mean _everything_, Haruki," Isuke snapped, swatting Haruki's arm off of her.

Isuke hated getting emotional or weepy. She hated sentimentality.

But everything that had been building up inside of Isuke for the past few hours strained against the mental barrier she had put up to contain them, and seeing Haruki now shook her more than ever.

_How is she still smiling? _she wondered in disbelief, staring at Haruki's shaky, nervous grin.

And as Isuke wondered exactly how many of Haruki's smiles had been forced or fake until now, words spilled out of her almost uncontrollably.

"I mean what your 'job' really is, and Ren, and where you went today. I mean the hotel, and that she's paying for your mother's hospital bills, and the fact that she hurts you. That she broke your arm today because you refused to stop rooming with me, and that she kept hurting you even while she was—"

Isuke brought a hand to her forehead, hating how her fingers trembled.

"And, more than anything else, that you're a _stupid_, reckless, suicidally self-sacrificing _idiot._"

Bringing her hand up, Isuke smacked Haruki weakly on the shoulder. It was childish and pointless, she _knew _that, but this idiot was just so _frustrating _that Isuke couldn't help it.

_"That's _what I mean."

Haruki was staring at her with wide, confused eyes, opening her mouth only to soundlessly close it again.

And so Isuke went on:

"How long were you planning on doing this? How did you even start doing this? Do you honestly think your family would want this?"

At this, Haruki finally seemed to snap out of her stunned state.

Her expression darkened, and she looked away.

"…maybe not, but I'm sure they'd like starving to death or being orphaned even less," Haruki replied, and Isuke felt another hot wave of anger overwhelm her.

"So, what? You're just planning on being Ren's toy forever? Her obedient little slave at her beck and call?" she demanded, letting a mocking edge seep into her tone.

Haruki scowled then, eyes narrowing with the first hint of anger that Isuke had seen from her since she had come back.

"Look, I'm only doing what I have to do," she said.

"What you're doing is selling yourself to a woman who just broke your arm," Isuke countered, glaring at the other girl. "What's next? Your legs? Your back? Your neck? _That _would sure benefit your family."

Haruki stepped forward, irritation flashing across her features.

"What would you have me do, then, Isuke? Take your advice?" She laughed bitterly. "Just kill them all and run off to live freely?"

"That's what I would say, but you're too _altruistic _for that, aren't you?" Isuke snapped. "So I won't even bother. All I'm saying now is that maybe you shouldn't be killing _yourself_ trying to provide for them!"

Silence abruptly fell.

And instead of replying, Haruki looked away.

"…why not? I've killed other people trying to provide for them," she said, and Isuke went still.

Looking up again, Haruki gave her a brittle smile.

"I've sacrificed other people, haven't I? So at the very least, I should be willing to sacrifice myself, too."

Isuke stared, incredulous, as Haruki turned away from her.

"…never mind. Just…please just leave it, Isuke. I made a promise to take care of my family, and I'm going to keep it no matter what. Living, dying…it doesn't matter, so—"

Isuke grabbed Haruki's collar, spun her around, and slapped her.

It was weak and glancing, yet Isuke's palm still stung from the impact; Haruki stared at her, bringing a hand slowly to her cheek.

And Isuke wound her fingers into Haruki's collar, tugging her down until her face inches away from Isuke's.

"It does matter," Isuke said.

Haruki's brow furrowed in bemusement, and Isuke tightened her grip on her clothing.

"Whether you live or die. It _does _matter," she said, and barely even noticed how her voice strained.

In the back of her mind, Isuke knew that she was being irrational. Haruki was a girl she hadn't even known a few months ago. Haruki was a friend that she had only recently made. Haruki was someone who Isuke could technically live on fine without.

Isuke knew all of this.

But she didn't care anymore.

All that mattered was that Haruki wasn't supposed to be this way.

All of this…it was all wrong.

Isuke's fingers shook, slipping from Haruki's collar.

She stared directly into Haruki's wide gold eyes and said:

"It matters to _me, _you _idiot_, so don't you dare say something like that ever again."

And she shoved Haruki backwards, turning on her heel to stalk back to her own bed.

* * *

Haruki stood completely still, touching her stinging cheek and staring at Isuke's back.

Her thoughts, her feelings…everything was a jumbled mess for her.

She wasn't sure how Isuke had found everything out, she wasn't sure how she felt about the fact that Isuke knew, she wasn't sure what she was going to from here on out, and she wasn't even sure how she felt about the fact that Isuke had slapped her.

All she could think about was the expression that had been on Isuke's face just now, and all she could feel was the strange, wrenching feeling in her chest that this expression had produced.

Shuffling slowly forward, Haruki hesitantly reached out for her friend's shoulder.

And she felt a surge of relief when Isuke didn't shake her hand off.

Nothing was clear in her head, but Haruki at least knew that there was only one thing she could say now.

"…Isuke."

When the other girl didn't respond, Haruki grimaced and gave her shoulder a slight squeeze.

"...sorry, Isuke. I'm really…really sorry," she murmured.

There was a long pause before Isuke replied.

"...you…you never learn, do you? I've told you a million times now to stop apologizing to me."

Isuke's tone was cool and her expression aloof, but she turned back around to face Haruki again.

"As long as you don't die…you have nothing to be sorry for," Isuke muttered, and looked up to meet her gaze.

Haruki managed a small grin.

"Yeah…I think I can manage to avoid that," she said, chuckling.

And she blinked, startled, when she suddenly felt Isuke take her hand very gently.

"You are never going to do what you did today ever again. Sanada Ren will never touch you ever again," Isuke stated, her gaze hardening.

Haruki glanced away, smiling faintly.

As much as she would like to believe that—

Isuke flicked her forehead.

Flinching at the light blow, Haruki couldn't help but let out a short laugh.

"W-what was that for, Isuke-sama?"

Isuke's expression softened, but she jabbed a finger once in Haruki's chest.

"I'm going to take care of this, so stop being an idiot and just leave everything to me, okay?"

Instead of replying, Haruki chuckled again and wrapped her uninjured arm around Isuke's waist, pulling the girl in against her chest.

Leaning against her friend, Haruki let out a quiet sigh.

At least for the moment, she wanted to be a little selfish again.

At least for the moment, she wanted to believe what her roommate told her.

And so, closing her eyes, Haruki blocked out everything and everyone in the world except Isuke.

* * *

A/N: **I'm** **sorry** **D:** I know most of you wanted Isuke to come in and kick Ren's ass this chapter, and believe me when I say that's what I wanted too, followed by mountains of fluff and romance and such. But no matter how I looked at it, it just didn't seem realistic. The specifics behind what Isuke did after she followed Ren and Haruki into the hotel and why exactly she chose not to interfere directly will be explained next chapter, but I'm sure most of you can tell already why she couldn't. More than anything else, I wanted to keep the realism/Isuke and Haruki's characterizations constant, and I felt like that really couldn't be done properly if Isuke flew in a superhero in this chapter. But I promise I'll make up for it eventually! The bad guy always gets his/her just deserts, after all.

This chapter was interesting but difficult to write, just because of the content. While I think a lot of people tend to write her off as a friendly Kyoko-clone, I think Haruki is possibly the most complex and interesting character in AnR, especially if you listen to her ED. There's a surprising amount of depth and complexity in her ending song alone, and it makes her all the more fascinating and awesome.

But arghhhhh the angst in this chapter. I'm really not a huge fan of angst, but again, to be realistic, I had to have it here. Though Isuke and Haruki are nonchalant about most things, I highly doubt even they could just shrug off prostitution/abuse, so...yeah. I'm sorry if this chapter was depressing, but I promise to make up for it in the coming chapters! I have lots of comfort and stuff written for about half of chapter 6 already, so hopefully that'll be up soon.

Some people were asking about what I have planned for this fic in terms of length, and I'm very sorry to say that I have absolutely no idea, haha. This fic was originally planned to only be about 5 chapters, lol, but clearly that's not the plan anymore, haha. I'm thinking now maybe around 10 to 15 chapters, but again, I really have no idea. Most of it really depends on all of your continued interest, and how you guys want to see this fic go/end :) So we'll play it by ear!

Ack but it's late and I'm tired and probably rambling, so I'll stop here. Please leave feedback, as always, and see you next chapter! :)

* * *

**Chapter 6: Chapter 6**

* * *

"Hey, Isuke-sama."

"…what?"

"Why are you doing all of this?"

Haruki sat on the edge of her bed, adjusting her towel to allow her roommate easier access to her back.

Behind her, Isuke tended to the cuts and scrapes all over her body.

Isuke replied with a short and annoyed kind of grunting noise; Haruki winced at the sting of the disinfectant as Isuke rubbed it in.

"What do you mean, why? Would you rather I left you to get a million infections and die?" Isuke said, applying a strip of gauze to a gash running down Haruki's back.

Haruki chuckled, tilting her head back to grin at her roommate.

"No, not at all. It's just…Isuke-sama was the one to say things like 'life's too short' and 'set yourself free of your burdens.' Isn't all of this just a big burden for you?" Haruki said, tapping a finger against the side of the bed.

The thought had been bothering Haruki the whole time she had been showering, thinking back on Isuke's words.

_There's no real reason for her to get wrapped up in all of this, so why…?_

Isuke was silent, and Haruki shifted positions uncomfortably on the bed.

"Er, not to seem ungrateful or anything. I was just curious. You don't have to respond."

Scratching the back of her head, Haruki frowned.

"I…I never wanted to drag you into this mess, Isuke," she said, kicking her legs restlessly.

She was sure Isuke had problems of her own to worry about. Something like this—

"That's why you're an idiot," Isuke said, cutting into Haruki's worried thoughts. "Superhuman strength or not, one person can't handle all of this alone.

"And it's Isuke-_sama_," Isuke added, testily. "You seem to be forgetting your manners lately 3 Now stop asking stupid questions and turn around. I'm done with your back."

Obediently swiveling in her seat, Haruki smiled at the other girl once she was facing her.

"Sorry, Isuke-sama." Reaching with her arm to touch her back, she grinned. "Whoa, feels good as new already! You have the magic touch, Isuke-sama!"

Isuke smirked, cutting another strip of medical tape and nodding.

"Of course I do. There's nothing Isuke can't do well, after all 3"

Another silence fell, this one just as charged with unanswered questions and worries as the last.

"…I'll answer your dumb question, Haruki, as long as you answer a couple of my questions," Isuke said at last, bandaging a cut on Haruki's leg.

"Fair enough," Haruki replied, trying to keep any nervousness from leaking into her tone. It was about time Isuke asked, after all, and she definitely deserved answers.

Still, Haruki couldn't exactly say she was looking forward to giving them.

Smoothing the gauze over another cut, Isuke said, "Let's start from the beginning, then. How did you start this whole…_thing_ with that old hag? Have you been doing this since you were expelled from Myojo?"

Haruki glanced away, fiddling with the edge of the blanket. Though she wasn't entirely sure why, it was weirdly difficult to look at Isuke while talking about Ren.

"Isuke-sama, you get discharged pretty soon, right? From the hospital, I mean."

Isuke arched a brow at this question but replied, "In a few days, I think. I only had to stay this long because they were afraid the stupid wound in my wrist would be infected. If it had just been a broken arm, then I would have gotten to go home ages…ago…"

Seeing the dawning comprehension on the other girl's face, Haruki smiled slightly.

"Yeah. When I admitted into the hospital, all I had was a broken arm. So I was actually discharged from the hospital a while ago."

Haruki drummed her fingers over the top of her cast.

"This was supposed to be gone a long time ago. I…I started up work as a construction worker, actually, after I was discharged."

Isuke stared at her, disbelief written all over her features.

"A _construction worker_? You might as well have been a cashier or-or a _maid_. Exactly how did you plan on making ends meet for your family with that kind of job?"

Despite herself, Haruki snickered.

"A maid, Isuke-sama? Can you seriously imagine me in a frilly dress with garters, sweeping and stuff?" she chortled, shaking her head. "Construction work suited me pretty well, actually, but yeah, it wasn't exactly a high-paying job."

Absentmindedly cracking her knuckles, Haruki smiled at the memory.

"I was actually also studying to get the equivalent of a high school diploma, you know. At the time, it kinda sucked, but now…never thought I would actually miss studying for anything," she murmured.

Isuke rubbed a cotton ball against a scrape on Haruki's knee, frowning all the while.

"Even with a high school diploma, there's no way you'd be able to find a job with a salary high enough to pay for your mother's hospital bills and your entire brood of siblings," she said.

Haruki nodded, jerking slightly as the disinfectant bubbled and hissed in the wound.

"I wasn't really sure what I was going to do. But I…I couldn't stay in the assassination business, Isuke-sama. It—"

"I know," Isuke interrupted, looking irritated, "You don't have to say it. If there's one thing Isuke knows for sure by now, it's how stupidly noble you are 3"

With a weak, sheepish laugh, Haruki shook her head.

"Well, that's where Ren came in.

"I was visiting my mom in the city's main hospital when I first met her. She was my mom's old classmate, you know. They…didn't exactly get along. She somehow heard about my mom's condition from somewhere, and so she was there to…well…"

"Gloat?" Isuke guessed, rolling her eyes. "Isuke wouldn't put it past that old bitch 3"

Haruki chuckled.

"Sort of. Actually, when I say they didn't get along, I meant…they actually used to be together, for a little bit."

"Together?" Isuke repeated, pausing in her ministrations. "As in dating?"

"Yeah. For a bit," Haruki said, grimacing. "Apparently she was a bitch back then too, though, so Mom dumped her for my dad, and that…didn't exactly go over so well with Ren.

"So she was mainly there at the hospital to kinda show off and say 'look what you could have had,' you know? Since Ren's filthy rich and living well and all that, while Mom's…"

"Poor and dying," Isuke supplied in true, brutally blunt Isuke-sama fashion.

Haruki smiled ruefully. "Yeah. Poor and dying. Mom looked pretty upset, so I decided to get Ren outta there. She was really surprised to see me. I'm the only one that got Dad's red hair, you see, and people say I look the most like him out of all my siblings. So it gave Ren bad flashbacks, or something."

Shrugging, she continued, "I'm also the only one that got Mom's eyes, though. So to Ren, I'm like a weird blend of the girl that she was in love with and the guy that stole that girl away."

Taking a deep breath, Haruki let it all out in a _whoosh_ of air.

"She came back the next day and told me point-blank that she could take care of my entire family and my mom's hospital bills in exchange for my…time on the weekends.

"Mom…has end stage renal disease. She can't survive without being in the hospital, and even keeping her alive in the hospital is really, really expensive. But they're testing this new drug on her, and it's been helping her out a lot. Problem is, this drug is even more expensive…and only someone with Ren's kind of money could afford it.

"So…yeah. The rest you know, I think," Haruki finished, and fell silent.

She watched Isuke as the other girl continued applying another bandage, waiting apprehensively for Isuke to respond in some way.

"…so you ended up in the hospital again because she hurt you?" Isuke finally asked, looking up.

Clearing her throat uncomfortably, Haruki nodded.

"Yeah. My arm's been getting a pretty bad beating, since it, uh…I think the doctor used the word 'demineralized,' or something. Since it was already weak from disuse in the cast, it breaks a bit more easily now. Ren's been paying for it, though, so it's no big deal—ow!"

Haruki winced as Isuke _drenched_ her other leg in disinfectant, the dozens of cuts and scratches there all stinging simultaneously.

"Ow, ow, _ow._ H-hey, Isuke-sama—"

"Did you enjoy that?"

Bewildered, Haruki shook her head.

"Of course not! Jeez, Isuke-sama, what happened to your magic touch? You were being so nice and gentle and all that until now, too," Haruki complained, pulling her leg back to her chest.

Isuke straightened, casually buffing her nails against her shirt.

"So you can feel pain, after all. I was beginning to think you were immune to it, or maybe some kind of masochist~"

"Wha—"

"You know, most normal people cry when they feel pain. Just like they also smile when they're happy."

Isuke's amber eyes rose to meet Haruki's again, and Haruki was startled by the agitation she saw reflected in them.

"Isuke suggests you learn from them," she said. "Instead of laughing off all the pain and constantly grinning like an idiot."

_Ah. _

So that's what this was about.

Haruki returned Isuke's scowl with another smile and patted her lightly on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about me, Isuke-sama. I can handle this much."

Isuke sighed, rolling her eyes.

"That's exactly the kind of attitude that Isuke is saying you should change. When's the last time you cried, Haruki? Do you even remember?"

Haruki's smile faded, and she let out a soft chuckle.

"Sure I do."

Ten years ago, the day the police had come to the door with news of the accident that had taken Dad's life.

"…it's been a while, but I remember. But what good does crying do, anyway, Isuke-sama? It's better to smile, don't you think?"

"To benefit others, maybe," Isuke replied. "But I'm always telling you to be selfish, aren't I?"

"But—"

"Oh, for the love of—do you need me to spell everything out for you, you idiot?" Isuke snapped, dropping the gauze and tape onto the bed.

Haruki stared, perplexed, as Isuke pointed a finger almost accusingly in her face and said: "Aren't you angry? Aren't you sad? Isn't it hard, constantly smiling, laughing, and putting up a stupidly brave face? With everything you've been through…don't you ever want to cry?"

* * *

All throughout the conversation, Isuke had noticed something that had irritated her more and more as Haruki had went on.

And so she vocalized this unbelievably infuriating pattern:

"You realize that you're telling me about all of this while smiling, right? Your father's dead, your mother's dying, and you're selling yourself, getting _hospitalized_ from the abuse, in order to make ends meet for your siblings…and you're _smiling_."

To Isuke's utmost horror, her vision began to water and blur; she immediately and angrily swiped at her eyes, but the other girl had noticed.

Eyes wide, Haruki gaped at her.

"Isuke-sama…are you crying?"

"_No, _you _idiot_, I'm just—this is just—"

Growling in frustration and mortification, Isuke glared at her roommate.

This was all her fault.

If she weren't so ridiculously _nice_ and selfless, had just listened to Isuke and been a little more selfish, then Isuke wouldn't be feeling the way she did now.

But as if was…

"Were you crying for me, Isuke-sama?"

Haruki was looking at her intently, eyes soft and concerned.

Ignoring the pang in her chest that those eyes brought about, Isuke glowered.

"I was _not _crying at all. I teared up for _one _second, just because of how stupid you were be—"

Haruki's hand very gently covered her own, and Isuke's words died, forgotten.

"...thanks, Isuke-sama. But…I'm really okay, you know? The reason why I don't cry is because I don't need to."

"That's not—"

"I really don't need to," Haruki insisted, firmly. "I don't need to...because I have people like you who cry for me."

Isuke tensed as Haruki brought a hand up to her face, gently cupping her cheek.

Haruki grinned, her thumb slowly running over Isuke's skin.

"People who give me all the strength I need to keep moving on, doing whatever it takes, you know?" she said.

Shaking her head, she added, "And Isuke-sama, my smiles aren't fake."

Releasing the breath that she hadn't even realized she had been holding, Isuke somehow managed to turn the exhalation into a weak scoff.

"Liar. What possible reasons could you have to be so happy all the time, then?"

"Plenty," Haruki replied immediately. "There's Mom, Fuyuka, Aki, Kana, Natsuki…just to name a few."

Tugging gently on a lock of Isuke's hair, Haruki's gaze softened.

"And there's you, Isuke-sama."

With anyone else, and at any other time, Isuke would've chosen this second to roll her eyes, wriggle free, or give some kind of sarcastic response.

But with Haruki, at this particular moment, Isuke couldn't do anything except mutely return Haruki's gaze, feeling heat rise in her cheeks.

She opened her mouth to reply, and nothing came out.

She closed her mouth again, poking her tongue out to wet her lips; Haruki's eyes dropped down to follow the movement, and Isuke felt another surge of heat.

"…Haruki…I—"

A loud, bright, ridiculously cheerful melody blared out from behind her, making both of them jump and turn around.

"Oh, whoops. That's my phone, sorry, Isuke-sama," Haruki said, stretching out to grab the ringing cell.

Ignoring the hammering in her chest, Isuke looked at the caller-ID to see "Fuyuka" flashing up at her.

Haruki let out the sigh of relief that Isuke felt.

"Good. It's not Ren," she said, voicing Isuke's thoughts, before picking up the phone.

"Hello, Fuyuka?"

Isuke leaned back in the bed, bringing her hand to her still-warm face.

_What…what the heck was that, just now?_

If Haruki's phone hadn't gone off—

"What? Aki did?" Haruki demanded.

Shaking her head, Isuke pushed those _distracting _thoughts away and turned back to her roommate.

"Jeez, that kid just can't stay out of trouble…yeah, don't worry about it. No, it's fine, I'll take care of it, okay? …yeah, no worries. I'll head over there now."

Isuke frowned as Haruki snapped the phone shut and tiredly rubbed her forehead.

"What's wrong?"

Haruki looked up, smiling sheepishly.

"It's Aki. Remember him, Isuke-sama? He's the younger twin with the little crush on you. The little punk's gotten himself into some trouble again. He was caught vandalizing someone's house, so they're holding him at the police station. He's just a kid, so there's no penalty or anything, but I gotta go pick him up," she said, getting to her feet.

Isuke also stood, her frown deepening

"This late? It's almost one in the morning. And I haven't finished cleaning and bandaging all your injuries."

Haruki waved a hand carelessly.

"It's fine, you got most of them. I can finish the job myself when I get back, and then we can finish talking; I'm sure you have more questions. But until-"

"_I'll _finish the job when _we _get back, and then we can finish talking," Isuke corrected, sighing as she picked her jacket up from her bed.

Haruki blinked at her.

"Huh?"

Isuke tapped a heel impatiently against the ground. "I'm coming with you, obviously. You're too poor to pay for a taxi, and knowing you you'll probably end up passing out from exhaustion before you let your brother stay in the station overnight. Though if you ask Isuke, the little brat might learn a lesson or two from that kind of experience~"

Haruki looked as though she might protest, but then nodded and chuckled.

"All right, then. Thanks, Isuke-sama. Looks like Aki's in for a little surprise."

Isuke reached out and caught Haruki's wrist as she moved to walk by.

At her roommate's questioning look, Isuke said, very emphatically, "I never make promises that I can't keep. I meant it when I said I was going to take care of this whole business with Ren, and your mother, and your family. I'm not even going to bother asking you to be selfish anymore or to stop forcing yourself to smile, but…"

Releasing Haruki's wrist, she sighed.

"Just try to rely a bit on Isuke, okay? 3 Instead of doing everything by yourself all the time."

Haruki nodded, jamming her hand into her pocket as she smiled.

"I'll try my best. But...you know, no matter what happens, Isuke…thanks for everything."

* * *

The moment Isuke walked in through the doors, Aki's eyes went absolutely enormous.

Haruki snickered, ruffling her brother's downy black hair as she sat down beside him.

"This isn't the time to be gawking, you little punk."

Turning to the cop, Haruki bowed slightly.

"Sorry for the trouble, dude. What exactly did he do?" she asked.

The cop, she noticed, seemed just as distracted by Isuke as Aki was, and Haruki felt a really weird, really faint spark of…of _something _unrecognizable deep in her gut at the way his eyes drifted over her roommate's body.

Haruki had to loudly clear her throat before the dumb guy snapped out of it.

"H-huh? Oh, er, I'm sorry. This kid was found on the Masuda family's estate, spray-painting the front door with graffiti. He's just a child, so no one's pressing charges, but he really can't be doing this again, okay?" the cop said, putting a hand on Aki's head.

Haruki frowned, turning to her little brother.

"Why were you doing something like that, Aki?"

The kid was a troublemaker, but not the kind to trespass and vandalize.

Aki hung his head low, drooping in his seat.

"Because Masuda Noriyuki…he made fun of Kana," he said, his voice very quiet.

"Made fun of Kana?" Haruki repeated, surprised.

Kana was always so sweet and quiet. What brat would pick on her?

Aki nodded slowly.

"Yeah. He was laughing at her because… because Kana wears the same clothes all the time."

Haruki stiffened, jaw clenching shut tightly.

An uncomfortable silence descended upon the room.

She didn't know how to respond.

Haruki had never been ashamed of her family's poverty, but she had also barely even gone to school. She had forgotten how mean kids could sometimes be, especially around Aki or Kana's age.

"…Aki…look, I'm sor—"

"Did you say Masuda Noriyuki?"

Isuke's voice surprised both Haruki and her little brother, and they both turned to see Isuke nonchalantly filing her nails.

"…y-yeah," Aki replied, hesitantly.

"What a coincidence~ I knew his older brother," Isuke said casually. "I even dated him for a little while. And you know what Isuke discovered while we were dating?"

Without waiting for a response, she looked up and smirked.

"_All_ of his stuff are knockoffs~" she drawled, putting her nail file down. "As if that wasn't bad enough, he had a terrible sense of fashion. None of his clothes ever matched, his hair was always disgustingly lank and greasy, and he was dumb and ugly."

Isuke crossed her long legs, seating herself on the edge of the table.

"The next time you see Masuda Noriyuki, ask him what the point of having money is if no one in his pathetic family can even use it right 3"

Going back to filing her nails, Isuke added, "Oh, and if he takes after his older brother, tell him he's stupid and ugly, too."

A soft, happy little noise immediately sounded from behind Haruki, and she turned to see Aki giggling, beaming up at Isuke.

"He has buck-teeth," he said, wriggling merrily in his seat, "and anyone who makes fun of Kana is stupid. So he really _is_ stupid and ugly."

"And what's the point of being rich if you're stupid and ugly, right?" Isuke said.

Aki nodded and grinned. "Right!"

Haruki looked between her brother and Isuke, a smile slowly spreading across her face. Leave it to Isuke-sama to comfort her brother in such a roundabout way.

_I'm not sure if I should be okay with Aki calling some kid stupid and ugly, but…_

Haruki shrugged.

_The brat deserves it for picking on our family, so whatever. He needs to learn a lesson, anyway. _

"Er, okay, well…remember to just...not do it again, okay?" the cop said, patting Aki's head again.

Aki nodded, getting to his feet.

And Haruki scooped him up into her uninjured arm, drawing a surprised and delighted whoop from the boy.

"All right, then, let's get you home, yeah?"

"Yeah! I'm sorry for causing trouble, Haruki-nee-chan," he said, wrapping his arms around her neck.

Haruki was opening her mouth to reply when the cop suddenly stepped forward, awkwardly clearing his throat.

"It's late, and the streets are pretty dangerous at night. Why don't I give you guys a lift home?" he said, looking directly at Isuke.

Haruki's stomach clenched with the same unidentifiable feeling at the way the cop openly stared at her roommate.

_This creep is more dangerous than anyone we'll met out there_, she thought, scowling slightly.

But the feeling quickly faded as soon as Isuke gave the cop a once-over and smirked.

"As if~ Isuke will just take her chances taking the taxi, thank you 3"

Haruki felt a strange sense of triumph well up inside her as they all walked out of the station, leaving the poor guy standing there.

"Ew, how pathetic," Isuke said as soon as they were inside the taxi. "He couldn't have been any more obvious. What kind of cop was he?"

"A bad one," Haruki said, looking back at the guy. He was still standing there inside the station, looking very disappointed. "Though I did kinda feel bad for him in the end. You're brutal, Isuke-sama."

Isuke shrugged, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

"He deserved it. Isuke hates it when—"

Isuke abruptly stopped talking the second Aki crawled into her lap.

"Isuke-nee-chan, you're pretty inside, too," he declared, smiling up at her.

Arching a brow, Isuke leaned back in her seat, clearly uncomfortable.

"Isuke has no idea what you're talking about, brat 3" she said with a sweet smile.

Aki seemed more than happy to explain.

"Mama always says that being pretty inside is more important than being pretty outside. But you're pretty both inside and outside!"

"…how corny. As expected of your family," Isuke said, shaking her head.

This motion was quickly restricted when Aki wrapped his short arms around Isuke's neck in a tight hug. "Thank you for coming to see me with Haruki-nee-chan! I like you a whole lot even _more_ now!"

"Oh, wow…lucky me 3" Isuke said stiffly, clearly waiting for the boy to let her go.

Unfortunately for her, Aki didn't seem to have any intention of releasing her.

Haruki stifled laughter as Isuke glared at her, tugging ineffectually at Aki's hood in a one-handed effort to pry him off of her.

Much to Haruki's continued amusement and Isuke's continued displeasure, Aki stuck to Isuke like a burr for the rest of the taxi ride to Haruki's house, hugging her all the while.

The house was still brightly lit and filled with commotion when Haruki reached the front door.

"Haruki-nee-chan! It's Ha-chan!"

The door swung open, and Natsuki, Haruo, and Toma all came running through the doorway.

All three of them stopped short when they saw Isuke.

And all three of them turned and ran back into the house.

"Fuyuka-nee-chan, Haruki-nee-chan brought that pretty lady with the bare belly with her!" Natsuki shouted, pointing at Isuke.

Haruki chuckled, patting Isuke on the back.

"Wanna go inside for a bit, Isuke-sama? It's not much to look at, I know, and it's a little cramped in there, but Fuyuka could whip up some cool drinks and we can eat some ice cream before heading back," she suggested, looking at her roommate.

Isuke was eyeing the house doubtfully, brow furrowed.

"…I'm not so selfish that I'll force you to leave without spending some time with your precious family," she finally said, and sighed. "Let's stay for a bit."

Haruki grinned, and with a rush of appreciation, squeezed her roommate in another brief one-armed hug.

"Thanks, Isuke-sama. It'll be fun, I promise."

Pretending not to hear Isuke's dark mutterings about "all of these unwanted hugs from this family," Haruki guided her roommate into her home.

It was chaos, as usual, and within seconds Aki was running into the thick of it all, tackling his twin to the ground and fighting over some old toy.

Haruki brought Isuke to the living room, finding a clean cushion for her to sit on.

"Wait right here, Isuke-sama. I'll go get some drinks from Fuyuka."

Chancing a glance back at her roommate as she left the room, Haruki couldn't help but grin at how uncomfortable and lost Isuke suddenly looked in that cramped, messy space littered with children's books, toys, and even the children themselves.

_Still, this kinda thing might do her some good, _Haruki mused. _Hang in there, Isuke-sama. _

Fuyuka was already preparing mugicha in the kitchen.

She looked up and smiled as Haruki entered.

"Sorry about the whole business with Aki, Sis. And I'm sorry to Inukai-san, too. I hope it wasn't too much trouble for the two of you," she said, placing the pitcher onto the counter.

Haruki shook her head, leaning comfortably against the table.

"No trouble at all. Isuke paid for a taxi, so it was an easy job," she said, grabbing a pack of Pocky from the cabinet.

"Oh, yeah! This reminds me: Isuke got a whole bunch of snacks and candy for everyone. It's all at the hospital, so come and get it tomorrow."

Fuyuka raised her brows, looking surprised.

"Inukai-san did?"

"Yeah, and a mountain of Pocky for me, too. Her dads brought it all over yesterday," she said, chortling at the memory.

"Her…dads? Then…you've met her parents?" Fuyuka said.

Haruki blinked at the weird note in her sister's voice, and turned to see Fuyuka smiling slyly at her.

Realization dawned, and Haruki almost automatically laughed.

"No, no, it's nothing like that!" she exclaimed, waving her hand and chuckling. "Jeez, Fuyuka. We're just friends."

"You are?" Fuyuka said.

"Wha—why do you look so sad?"

Fuyuka had positively wilted, going from cheerful to downcast in milliseconds.

"Well, it's just…you've never really had the chance to do things like dating before, Sis, and Inukai-san is so pretty, and you two seem to get along so well…"

Haruki smiled at the concern in her little sister's voice, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

"Don't worry about me, Fuyuka. Besides, even if it was like that, Isuke-sama would be way out of my league. Her parents probably already have the rich heir of some huge conglomerate picked out for her marriage. She's gonna marry someone that can give her the luxurious lifestyle she's used to, you know?" she said, biting down on a stick of Pocky.

Fuyuka frowned.

"Well, I suppose so…but, if you were to disregard class and background and all of that, I want to know…how do you feel about her, Sis? You're really just one-hundred percent friends?"

"Yeah, of co—"

"_Think _before responding, Sis," Fuyuka interrupted, her frown deepening into an almost Isuke-sama-ish scowl. "You're always thinking about other people, but you never give even a second of thought to yourself or your feelings. Don't say a word, think for at least a minute, and then tell me again."

Haruki obediently closed her mouth.

_Sheesh. Everyone's bossing me around lately, _Haruki thought ruefully, chuckling to herself. _But, well, this shouldn't be too hard. Let's see…_

How did she feel about Isuke?

Well, Haruki definitely liked her a whole lot. She had already been fond of her roommate from their time together at Myojo, and this fondness had only increased exponentially over the past week.

The fact that Isuke had actually gotten her steak and Pocky had especially surprised her, showing off that hidden heart of gold that Haruki had always known was buried under that attitude.

And then there was everything with Ren, just earlier that day…

Isuke hadn't yet explained how she had found everything out, but she had obviously cared enough to figure it all out on her own. She had also cared enough to bandage Haruki's injuries and get her a doctor.

Haruki frowned.

She had even cared enough to cry for her, as brief and unwilling as it had been.

_Never thought I'd ever see Isuke-sama tearing up about anything. _

Sure, it had seemed to be more out of frustration than anything else, and she had seemed to be highly embarrassed and regretful about it afterwards, but still…to see prideful, cynical, and mocking Inukai Isuke, getting to that state…

Haruki had felt a swell of affection earlier, as they had sat together on the hospital bed, and had felt the strangest and strongest urge to…

_To what?_

She had felt the urge to do _something_, before her phone had rung.

"…hey, Fuyuka. What are the um…you know, what exactly does it mean to 'like' someone that way? The way you were talking about?" Haruki asked doubtfully, rubbing the back of her neck.

Fuyuka smiled, bringing a finger to her chin.

"Well, I'm not too sure either, Sis. I don't exactly have experience_._ But...according to one of the most common theories of love, there are actually a few main components.

"The first is affection, or fondness."

_Okay, check_. Haruki had definitely established a long time ago that she liked Isuke very much.

"The second is attachment."

_…__check. _

Haruki was pretty attached to her roommate; maybe even too much, considering the relatively short amount of time they had known each other.

"And the third is attraction. You know…like desire, and stuff," Fuyuka said, looking slightly embarrassed.

Haruki quietly rewinded several moments in her head.

The time she had imagined Isuke in that frilly pink lingerie, the time Isuke had ended up on top of her, and then, just an hour or so ago, when Haruki had felt the urge to…

To kiss her.

..._check._

Haruki felt her face heat as she finally realized what it was that she had wanted to do, when they had been sitting together on the bed at that moment.

The urge she had felt was the desire to kiss Inukai Isuke.

…_oh. _

Haruki ran a hand over her face, clearing her throat.

"…uh. Oh, wow. I guess I really do like her that way, after all."

"I _knew _it!"

Fuyuka beamed, squealing delightedly, and Haruki let out a soft, disbelieving laugh.

_How didn't I realize…?_

Dimly aware that her little sister was bouncing up and down in glee, Haruki shook her head clear of her confusion and turned back to Fuyuka.

"L-look, it doesn't matter, anyway," she began, putting the box of Pocky down.

Fuyuka took her hand and giggled.

"No, Sis, that's _all _that matters. All that matters are your feelings," she said.

"And what about Isuke-sama's feelings?" Haruki asked, smiling despite herself. "She doesn't get a say in the matter?"

"Of course she does, but Inukai-san has no choice but to fall for you, Sis. Just look at you!"

"Fuyuka…"

Haruki didn't want to rain on her kid sister's parade. She really didn't. But it would be meaner to get her hopes up like this, only to have them fall flat later on.

"Listen, Fuyuka…I'm happy that you're happy, but it isn't that simple. Like you said, even if we put aside class and all that…"

She trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

_There's Mom. There's making enough money to feed all of you. And there's Ren, at the center of it all. _

Isuke was already going through the trouble of saying that she'd help her out with all of this. The last thing she needed was for Haruki to add the extra burden of dealing with some kind of confession.

And the last thing Haruki wanted was to scare Isuke off with feelings that Haruki herself had only just realized now.

They had only really just become friends, after all.

_Now's…really not the time for that kind of thing. _

"But Sis—"

A loud crash from the living room cut off whatever Fuyuka had been about to say, and Haruki was momentarily torn between relief at the distraction and worry at the noise.

Quickly pushing herself off the table, Haruki ran over to the next room.

And in the next room lied a _very _disgruntled Isuke buried underneath Aki, Natsuki, Kana, and Toma. All half-covered in liquid chocolate.

"…um."

Haruki's brain whirred, baffled as to which part of this bizarre scene to even begin analyzing to make sense of it all.

Underneath the pile, Isuke let out a pitiful wheeze.

"F-for a bunch of _poor _children…you really do weigh a lot," she gasped, squirming around in a vain attempt to free herself from the four kids on top of her.

Galvanized into action by the irritation in Isuke's voice, Haruki swiftly scooped Aki and Natsuki up and off her roommate, depositing them on the ground beside her before doing the same with Toma and Kana.

Kneeling beside her downed roommate, Haruki stared in complete bewilderment at the chocolate coating about half her body. It seemed to be some kind of fudge ice cream, but why it was on Isuke's body…

_…__definitely has to do these four punks, _Haruki thought, looking back at her decidedly guilty looking quartet of youngest siblings.

"Y-you okay, Isuke-sama?" Haruki asked hesitantly, deciding to ignore the chocolate, for now.

Isuke responded with a poisonous glare, her usual smile visibly strained.

"Haruki…"

"Yeah, Isuke-sama?"

"…you said this would be fun. Isuke…is _not_ having fun 3"

Haruki tried her absolute best not to laugh.

She failed in a matter of seconds.

Collapsing next to her extremely displeased roommate, she snickered helplessly, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of the entire situation.

Haruki wasn't sure what the future held. She didn't know what would happen with Ren, or the money situation, or whatever Isuke was planning.

She wasn't even entirely sure yet of her own feelings towards the other girl, having only just managed to figure out that she actually liked her roommate in that way.

Everything was complicated, confusing, and unclear.

But none of that seemed to really matter.

For now, Haruki just wanted to be with her friend like this.

"That much is okay, right, Isuke-sama?" she said, grinning down at the other girl.

Expectedly, Isuke scowled, brow knit in confusion, and Haruki chuckled.

Beyond the complication, confusion, and unclearness, Haruki knew that being with Isuke made her happy.

And for now, that much was simple enough.

* * *

A/N: A few people were asking about Haruki's feelings about Isuke, haha, and hopefully this chapter has answered your questions. Considering Haruki's nature, it seemed like she'd be the type to kind of remain oblivious to her own (especially romantic) feelings until prompted by someone else, which is why it was kind of vague how she felt about Isuke until this chapter.

To make up for the heavy stuff last chapter, I dedicated quite a bit of this chapter to relationship development and even some fluffy-ish kind of stuff. The next chapter will start off with some choco-shenanigans ;D before we move onto more plot/slightly darker things; half of you seem to be asking for more drama, while the other half wants fluff and romance haha, so I'll try to keep it evenly mixed :)

Side note: I can't believe AnR is over! D: People seem to be split on whether or not they liked the ending, but personally, I gotta say: Haruki in a construction worker outfit, Isuke on the beach, and Hanabusa being _alive_ just made me so ridiculously happy, I ended up satisfied with the entire ending, haha.

Anyway, please leave any feedback you want to, as always, and see you next chapter! :)

* * *

**Chapter 7: Chapter 7**

* * *

Isuke smacked the back of Haruki's head.

It hurt.

Quite a bit.

To be fair, Haruki knew that she totally deserved it.

_A few minutes earlier…_

"Okay…you're saying that you guys wanted to share your ice cream with Isuke-sama, and so brought the carton over here to her. That much I get. What I don't get it how it ended up slathered all over her body," Haruki said, frowning down at four of her younger siblings.

Natsuki pointed to the empty carton of chocolate fudge ice cream and shook her head.

"It wasn't our fault, Ha-chan! The freezer is broken," she said. "So the ice cream was all melted."

Toma nodded rapidly.

"Wasn't our fault!" he echoed. "Or it wasn't _my _fault. Aki was the one that pushed me when I tried to give some of the ice cream to Isuke-nee-chan."

Aki cringed guiltily before shooting his twin an angry little glare.

"That's because _I _wanted to give the ice cream to Isuke-nee-chan. It was my idea! But Toma wouldn't give me the carton, and then Kana and Natsuki tried to take it also—"

"I was just trying to break up the fight," Kana protested. "But then we all ended up tripping and getting tangled up…"

"…before crashing on top of Isuke-sama," Haruki finished, and chuckled when all four of her siblings nodded.

She looked over at Isuke, who was looking quite sullen and highly discontented under the coating of chocolate fudge.

Determined not to start laughing again, Haruki turned back to her siblings.

"It may have been an accident, but you caused a lot of trouble for Isuke-sama. What do you say?" she prompted, like Mom used to do.

"We're sorry, Isuke-nee-chan," the kids immediately chorused, bowing low to the ground.

Smiling apologetically at her roommate, Haruki offered a slight bow of her own.

"I'm really, really sorry about this Isuke-sama…but do you think you can forgive them?"

Isuke scowled, tossing her sticky and chocolate-covered handkerchief to the side.

"…you're all very, very lucky that Isuke is in a generous mood today," she said, her smile barely twitching into place. "Let's go with this: if everyone in this family promises to stop _touching _me so much, all will be forgiven 3"

Aki furrowed his brow, looking crestfallen.

"What do you mean, Isuke-nee-chan?" he asked, tugging on her hand.

"I mean things like this," Isuke said, gesturing to his hand on her own. "Isuke's hands, stomach, hair and clothes are not for you to touch, okay? 3"

_They were touching her stomach? _

The thought made Haruki chuckle, though it wasn't exactly surprising. Her younger siblings all seemed to thrive on a very physical form of affection. They had probably been crawling all over Isuke.

"C'mon, guys, what do you say? You don't want Isuke-sama to stay mad at you, right?" Haruki said, ruffling a now sulking Aki's hair.

Aki shook his head.

"…okay. We promise that—"

"Wait, Inukai-san."

Fuyuka had come out from the kitchen, and stood smiling in the living room doorway.

"You said 'everyone in this family'…so does this promise extend to Haruki-nee-chan as well?"

…_huh?_

Fuyuka was the picture of innocent curiosity as she shrugged and continued, "You know, since you two are roommates, you'll probably end up touching each other pretty often, so I just wanted to know if you wanted Haruki-nee-chan to stop touching you, too."

Haruki gaped at her little sister in utter disbelief.

Fuyuka was…was _meddling_.

Her sweet little sister was actually trying to meddle in Haruki's nonexistent love life. She was trying to make the nonexistent…exist.

_This is really not okay. _

"F-Fuyuka—"

"No…it doesn't apply to her."

At the sound of her voice, Haruki turned back to Isuke, newly baffled.

Her roommate immediately averted her eyes, frowning at the ground.

"What? Like your sister said, we're roommates, right? Isuke isn't going to make you promise something irrational 3" she said, getting to her feet. "Besides, if I include in that promise, you won't be able to help me clean this mess up."

Isuke breezed past her, leaving Haruki to alternate between staring after her in confusion and pretending not to see the gleeful smirk on Fuyuka's face.

"I'll take care of the kids up, Sis, so why don't you go help Inukai-san clean herself up?" Fuyuka suggested.

Before Haruki could even respond, her sister was off, carrying Kana and Toma into the bathroom.

Haruki stood there in silence for a few seconds, feeling a bit at a loss.

_Liking someone really is complicated, huh…who knew Fuyuka could be so pushy? _she mused as she made her way into the kitchen.

Isuke was standing by the sink, peeling her sleeves back with a look of distaste.

"My entire body feels all sticky," she complained as Haruki entered the room. "Isuke can't stand it 3"

Haruki looked her roommate over more closely. The chocolate was splattered all over her shirt, as well as her exposed stomach, collar, and hands. The fudge had a surprisingly thick consistency, and it was smeared over her skin in a way that resembled actual liquid chocolate more than ice cream.

Which meant it would probably be a lot harder to clean.

"Wow, it's really all over you, huh? Erm, let's see…for now, why don't you change out of your top? I'll give you a shirt you can wear until we get back to the hospital, and then you can shower there," Haruki said.

Isuke made an annoyed noise that Haruki took as agreement, and Haruki quickly jogged off to find a shirt her roommate could temporarily wear.

She returned to the kitchen with a large t-shirt a few seconds later.

"Here you go, Isuke-sama. This probably isn't exactly as stylish as you're used to, but everything else is in the wash right now, and—"

Haruki's words stuttered to a complete stop; she froze at the entrance to the kitchen.

Isuke stood in the middle of kitchen, cleaning herself with a paper-towel and clad in a very lacy black bra.

It was the latter fact that attracted Haruki's attention.

Haruki had seen Isuke less than clothed before. She had even bathed with her pretty often, back at Myojo.

But it all felt totally different now that Haruki had realized the exact nature of her feelings for her roommate, and consequently…her face pretty much felt like it had suddenly been set on fire.

"What is _that_?"

Isuke, thankfully, seemed too distracted by the t-shirt that Haruki was holding to notice her staring.

Clearing her throat, Haruki forced her gaze away from Isuke's undergarments and focused instead on the big picture on the front of the t-shirt.

"It's Olaf," Haruki said, grinning at the familiar picture of the happy little snowman.

Looking at Olaf was good; looking Olaf was distracting, since looking at Olaf meant that Haruki wasn't looking at her very scantily-clad roommate.

"Y'know, from _Anna and the Snow Queen, _that animated American movie; I think it was called _Frozen_ originally," Haruki continued, trying very hard not to notice the way Isuke kind of…bounced…as she leaned forward to stare at the shirt.

Isuke was smirking, shaking her head as she took the shirt from her.

"Leave it to you to own a kid's shirt like this," she said, tossing the top onto the counter.

Haruki opened her mouth to reply, only to stop and blink in confusion when Isuke handed her a damp paper towel.

"I can't clean my arm with my other hand bound up like this," Isuke explained, gesturing to her sling and cast. "So do it for Isuke, will you? 3"

Isuke's uninjured arm and hand were the only parts of her body that were still covered in chocolate, every other spot having been wiped clean.

Taking the paper towel, Haruki nodded.

It was just her arm and her hand. Nothing major.

Haruki could handle that much.

…or so she thought.

At first, all went well.

Haruki wiped down Isuke's arm and wrist, and even made it to her palm and knuckles.

The problems began when she reached Isuke's fingers.

Contrary to what Isuke seemed to think, Haruki didn't actually have a hand fetish.

She just really happened to like Isuke's hands because they belonged to Isuke. Other people's hands she could care less about.

Haruki stared down at those long, slender fingers until finally Isuke wiggled them impatiently.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked, frowning up at her.

"Sorry, Isuke-sama," Haruki replied automatically.

But instead of wiping her roommate's fingers with the paper towel, Haruki found herself throwing the paper towel to the side and bringing those fingers to her lips.

"W-what are you—"

Haruki wasn't sure what exactly got into her.

But apparently liking someone meant that her self-control had been reduced to that of a pervy twelve year old boy, because the next thing she knew, Haruki was slowly lapping up the chocolate from Isuke's fingers.

Isuke made a choked sound as Haruki sucked the tips of her fingers, her tongue gliding over and between each digit.

"H-Haruki—"

_It's sweet. _

And it was probably the best chocolate fudge ice cream Haruki had ever tasted.

She flicked her tongue along the back of Isuke's knuckles; a strange, thin noise escaped Isuke's throat.

Turning Isuke's hand over, Haruki suckled the last finger clean.

And then it was over, and Haruki was left kneeling there and wondering what the _hell_ she had just done.

A rising wave of panic swelled up inside her as she remained utterly motionless, still holding Isuke's hand in her own.

_What did I just…_why_ did I just…oh man…_

Haruki was almost afraid to look up.

_Isuke-sama is going to kill me…_

Fortunately, Isuke didn't kill her.

Unfortunately, she did hit her on the back of head really, really hard.

_Yeah, _Haruki decided, rubbing her head ruefully. _Definitely deserved that. _

* * *

About an hour later, after they had returned to the hospital, Haruki was still apologizing.

"I-I'm really sorry, Isuke-sama, I swear I don't know what got into me," she said for what had to be the ten thousandth time.

For what had to be the ten thousandth, Isuke utterly ignored her.

Ripping open another packet of gauze, Isuke bandaged another scrape on Haruki's leg.

"You're…really mad at me, huh, Isuke-sama?"

Isuke gritted her teeth but didn't reply.

Because actually, no, Isuke wasn't mad at all. At least, she wasn't mad at Haruki.

Inukai Isuke was angry with no one other than herself.

The reason for this anger stemmed from what Haruki had done, yes, but it wasn't actually the idiot's fault.

Isuke was mad at herself for her reaction to what Haruki had done.

Even at the memory, Isuke could feel her face growing warm.

While Isuke wasn't exactly as experienced as most people tended to think she was, she also definitely was _not_ some blushing little virgin.

Yet she always seemed to act like one whenever Haruki so much as even _looked_ at her.

This pissed Isuke off.

It _really_ pissed her off.

_You're Inukai Isuke, _she mentally berated herself, scowling down at the bottle of disinfectant. _You're not supposed to be embarrassed about these kinds of things. Get ahold of yourself, idiot. _

Isuke remembered a particularly horny boy she had dated in the past that had done things that were hundreds of times worse than just sucking on her fingers.

But while Isuke had been unimpressed and even bored with that guy (if she remembered correctly, she had dumped him after a day or two), she had been reduced to a stammering wreck with Haruki.

What made everything a million times even worse was that Isuke had _liked _it.

She had wanted Haruki to continue, and had been absurdly close to actually asking her to continue before she had opted to smack the other girl instead.

_But why was that idiot even doing something like that? Unless…_

Shaking her head, Isuke scowled and ignored the flush that crept up her neck.

First things first.

"Isuke-sama…"

Isuke was surprised by the genuine worry in her roommate's tone, and she looked up to see Haruki staring dolefully at her.

Haruki's eyes, Isuke had noticed, could be ridiculously expressive.

At the moment, they were large and sad; coupled with the way Haruki drooping in her seat, they gave Isuke the overall impression of a dejected puppy.

"I'm _really _sorry, Isuke-sama. Please forgive me," she said, even going so far as to bow her head.

Rolling her eyes, Isuke flicked her roommate's forehead.

"I wonder how many times Isuke has to tell you to _stop _apologizing before you understand 3 I was never angr—"

_Wait a second. _

Snapping her mouth shut, Isuke stared intently at her confused roommate.

This was the perfect opportunity to straighten things out.

Isuke _wasn't_ some whimpering and virginal little girl.

She was going to make that clear, here and now.

"…close your eyes, Haruki," she said, swiftly changing gears.

Haruki blinked at her, looking more bemused than ever.

"Close…my eyes?"

"Yes," Isuke replied impatiently. "You wanted Isuke's forgiveness, right? Do as I say and close your eyes right now."

Haruki obeyed immediately, and Isuke couldn't help but smile at the girl's compliance. She really was like a puppy sometimes.

"Keep them shut until I tell you otherwise. If you peek even for a second, Isuke will never, ever forgive you 3"

Haruki nodded, and Isuke smirked as she slowly lowered herself down onto the bed.

_An eye for an eye, right? _

And a kiss for a kiss.

Isuke surveyed her roommate's body, wondering what location she should choose.

The hand would probably be the most fair, but that was a little too boring and predictable for Isuke's taste.

Isuke's gaze dropped down to where she had been until now, bandaging the wounds on Haruki's legs.

The inside of Haruki's left thigh was smooth and unmarked.

_Perfect 3_

She gently nudged Haruki's legs further apart with her knee, letting her fingers slide across her skin.

"U-um…Isuke-sama?"

"Remember what Isuke said," Isuke warned, frowning up at the other girl. "No peeking, no matter what."

Haruki nodded again, more uncertainly this time.

Positioning herself between Haruki's knees, Isuke leaned down and pressed her lips to Haruki's skin.

The other girl immediately jerked in surprise, and Isuke was gratified by the color that instantly flooded Haruki's face.

"H-hey, Isuke-sama—"

"Don't move 3" Isuke said, thinking back to what Haruki had done.

Isuke let her tongue slide along the inside of Haruki's thigh, enjoying the way Haruki shivered at the sensation.

_Kissing, licking, and…oh, right. She sucked quite a bit too, didn't she?_

Haruki visibly swallowed hard as Isuke sucked at the soft skin.

_There 3_

Isuke straightened, smirking triumphantly.

Haruki was red-faced and speechless, much like Isuke had been about an hour ago.

This was much more like it.

This was something Isuke knew and felt at ease with.

Nodding, Isuke smiled.

"You can open your eyes now 3"

Isuke regretted those words the moment they came out, because the second Haruki opened her eyes was the second all of Isuke's renewed confidence evaporated.

Haruki's gaze was penetrating, intense with something unidentifiable; Isuke stared, suddenly at a loss all over again.

_H-how the heck does this idiot _do _this to me?_

Haruki inched forward on the bed, and instead of smirking and meeting her gaze directly like she _wanted _to, Isuke ended up clearing her throat and averting her gaze.

"W-why are you staring?" she demanded, studiously avoiding eye contact. "Isuke only did to you what you did to me earlier."

Her roommate abruptly leaned forward, leaning her head on Isuke's shoulder, and it took all of Isuke's self-control not to give a very undignified squeak of surprise.

"H-hey—"

"…n-no good, Isuke-sama. No good at all."

Isuke couldn't suppress a shiver at the sudden proximity and huskiness of Haruki's voice right by her ear.

"W-what are talking about? What's no good?"

Haruki's hand was firm and warm against her back, and Isuke squirmed around to express her discomfort.

But she froze when Haruki spoke again, her voice a near rasp: "You really shouldn't test my limits like that."

Isuke yelped, losing her balance and toppling backwards as Haruki pushed her down.

_W-what the heck—this was not supposed to hap—why is she—_

Unable to string even a single coherent thought together, Isuke stared wordlessly up at her roommate, who was gazing steadily back down at her.

"…I have something to tell you, Isuke-sama," Haruki said, her countenance unusually serious.

Isuke almost habitually averted her gaze, only to turn back in surprise when Haruki brought a hand gently to her cheek.

"Can you look at me, Isuke-sama?" Haruki requested quietly.

Isuke complied, if only because she had no idea what else to do.

She was sure she had never, ever let anyone push her down like this before; if anyone had dared to even try, Isuke would've kicked them off immediately. Or just stabbed them.

Doing either of these things, however, was unthinkable as soon as Haruki entered the picture.

_This _idiot_ is turning everything inside-out_.

"Thanks," Haruki murmured, gently pushing a strand of hair from Isuke's face. "You know, Isuke-sama…right now, I want to be selfish more than I ever have before."

Her hand trailed downwards, running along Isuke's jaw.

"I _really_ want to tell you something right now," she said with a small grin. "Really, really badly."

"…then tell me," Isuke replied, her voice coming out _irritatingly_ quiet and unsteady.

Haruki shook her head.

"I can't. Not yet."

Isuke frowned. "Why not?"

"Because I don't deserve to yet."

Before Isuke could reply, Haruki continued:

"After…after everything with Ren is taken care of, after my family's needs are fully met, after Mom gets the best treatment possible…after I finish fulfilling all of my responsibilities…will you hear me out?"

Isuke stared, torn between utter confusion and irritation.

"You shoved me down onto the bed to say _that_?" Isuke demanded, making a move to rise. "'I have something to tell you but I'm not going to tell you'; Isuke hates that kind of thing the most, you know 3"

Haruki's hand on her shoulder prevented her from sitting up, and Haruki smiled down at her.

"Well, I was going to tell you now, but then I realized that'd be too selfish."

"Haruki—"

"I know, I know. I should be selfish once in a while, sure; but at least with this, Isuke-sama, you gotta let me do it my way."

Isuke glared up at the other girl, more exasperated than anything else.

That was it?

_What the…I got all nervous for nothing. _

Isuke frowned in another rush of annoyance.

_Wait, why was I even nervous to begin with? _

Inukai Isuke never got nervous. Except, apparently, when she was around Haruki.

"You're the exception to so many rules. It pisses Isuke off 3" she grumbled, scowling when Haruki looked inquiringly down at her.

Sighing, she nodded.

"Fine. When the time comes, whenever _that _will be, Isuke will hear whatever it is you have to say," she said.

_It's probably some overly long letter of gratitude, or something. _

Though for a second, it had almost seemed like Haruki had been about to…confess, or something.

Isuke scoffed, rolling her eyes at the thought.

As if. This idiot was like an overgrown kid. She probably didn't even have a basic concept of romance.

_…__but if that's true, then why did she do that to your fingers earlier? _questioned an obnoxious little voice in the back of her mind.

Isuke told that voice to shut up.

It was confusing and frustrating enough sorting out her own feelings for Haruki without having to take Haruki's feelings for _her_ into consideration.

Besides, while Isuke would be the first to admit that she was quite self-centered, she wasn't so selfish that she would pursue something like that when Haruki had much bigger problems to deal with.

For now, and most importantly…

"We have to deal with Ren," Isuke said, frowning. "Then you'll be able to say whatever it is you want to say, right?"

"Right," Haruki said, grinning. "Thanks, Isuke-sama."

And, leaning down, Haruki brushed her lips against Isuke's forehead.

_What the—_

Isuke sputtered indignantly, shoving her chortling roommate back.

"What the heck was that? I'm not a _kid_, you idiot," Isuke snapped, furiously fighting back the heat that flooded her cheeks. "Now get off of me. I'm going to go shower, and then I'll tell you what we're going to do about that old hag."

Haruki obeyed, jumping off the bed and nodding.

"Yes, ma'am. Make sure all the chocolate comes off," she said, jauntily waving a hand.

Isuke scowled as she left the room, far too preoccupied with her own embarrassment to notice that behind her, Haruki awkwardly cleared her throat and flushed a very similar shade of red.

* * *

"Before we begin, there a few things you should know."

Haruki nodded, listening attentively as Isuke leaned against the edge of her bed.

Spinning her knuckle knife around her hand, Isuke said, "Normally, violence solves everything 3 Isuke would like nothing more than to stab Ren in the eye, but in this world, there actually is one greater thing than violence: money. Ren has a lot of it, which protects her from violence."

Frowning, Isuke continued, "So, taking down the old hag will require three phases. We're going to begin phase one first thing tomorrow morning."

Haruki nodded again, smiling at the seriousness of Isuke's tone.

"You're really going all out, huh, Isuke-sama?"

Isuke shrugged, getting to her feet.

"Isuke always does everything carefully and perfectly 3 Now, tell me this, Haruki: in the world of the wealthy, what is the single most important thing that everyone has to have?"

Haruki blinked.

"Er…money?"

"I meant aside from the _obvious_," Isuke said, rolling her eyes. "Never mind, I don't even know why I asked you. The most important thing is networking, Haruki. Connections. It's all about who you know, not what you know."

Raising a finger, Isuke said, "I always get what I want through other people who do things for me. 3 With the right connections, we'll be able to find people who'll take care of this mess, too."

Taking her phone from the top of the dresser, Isuke showed Haruki a short list of three names.

Furrowing her brow, Haruki read them aloud: "Inoue Miyu, Ogawa Hikaru, and Hanabusa Sumi—huh? The Hanabusa from our class?"

Isuke nodded, tossing her phone onto the bed.

"The insanely rich one, yes. These three are our tickets to getting rid of Ren and making sure that your family will be taken care of," she said, smirking.

"Getting rid of?" Haruki echoed, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Just what I said~ Listen, even if we were to find a different way to provide for your family right now, Ren isn't the type to just quietly fade away into the background. With the whole creepily possessive thing she has for you, if you leave her now, she'll do everything in her power to destroy both you and your family."

Haruki nodded slowly, frowning.

"That makes sense…but…we're not actually going to kill her, are we?"

Despite everything Ren had ever done to her, Haruki was sure she never wanted to kill anyone again, no matter the circumstances.

So she was relieved when Isuke shook her head.

"The old bitch has way too much power to be put down that easily. But we _can_ destroy her in other ways, so just leave that all to Isuke 3" she said, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

Haruki chuckled.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Also…we have to be absolutely sure that Ren doesn't know you and I are still interacting," Isuke said.

A faint frown wrinkled Isuke's forehead, and she scowled.

"I followed you that day you went to the hotel, and overheard everything from outside the door. You're an idiot, by the way, for not agreeing to stop rooming with me right away," she said, pointing at Haruki's cast. "_That_ didn't have to happen."

_Ah. So that's how she found everything out. _

Haruki tried to imagine Isuke skulking in the shadows, trying not to be seen; the absurd and completely uncharacteristic image made her snicker.

"You cared enough about me to stalk me, huh, Isuke-sama? I'm flattered," she teased, grinning.

Isuke scoffed.

"I wasn't _stalking _you, idiot, I was just following you. And you cared enough about me to have your arm broken, so…" Isuke trailed off.

"Right," Haruki said good-naturedly. "And if I had to, I'd do it again, Isuke-sama. You're worth way more than a broken arm or two."

Haruki smiled at the way Isuke expectedly rolled her eyes.

"Don't be stupid. 3 Now go to sleep. Isuke has a lot planned for tomorrow, so be ready~" she said, her heels clacking on the ground as she walked back to her own bed.

Haruki nodded, absentmindedly murmuring a response as she watched her roommate stretch out those long legs and kick off her boots.

Isuke really was pretty.

_No, not just pretty. _

She was gorgeous, and Haruki found that she only seemed to get more and more attractive by the second.

The inside of her thigh burned, and it wasn't from any gash or wound that Ren had left on her. Haruki could feel her pulse speed up at the mere thought of what Isuke had pulled earlier that night.

_Guess this really is what it means to like someone, _she mused, eyes drifting back up to her roommate's face.

She was surprised to see Isuke staring right back at her.

"…sleep well, for once, and don't worry about anything," she said, a small smile curving her lips. "Even an idiot like you deserves a good night's sleep once in a while 3"

Haruki grinned back at her roommate.

"Thanks to you, Isuke-sama, I think I'll get one."

As the lights turned off and Haruki lied back in her bed, she found her eyelids immediately drooping with exhaustion.

Isuke had only explained to her the bare skeleton of whatever plan she was cooking up, and Haruki still had no idea what was going to happen tomorrow, but she felt strangely contented as she closed her eyes.

And sleep came more easily to her than it had in a long, long time.

* * *

A/N: Sorry to cut it off there, but I have to go out tonight, so I figured I might as well give you guys an update for the weekend! :)

I've been receiving a lot of messages/reviews asking for Isuke and Haruki to kiss hahaha; please be patient for just a little bit longer. It's coming up, I promise! In the meantime, I hope you were pleased with the other types of kisses in this chapter! A couple of you in the reviews seem to have guessed what would happen with the chocolate, lol. Kudos to you :)

Speaking of reviews, thanks again to all you awesome reviewers! You guys rock. :D

Expect to see some cameos from the other members of Class Black in the next chapter :) Quite a few of them will be playing roles in Isuke's master plan, haha. If there's anyone you guys really really want to see in particular, haha, please feel free to let me know. They won't be playing huge parts, but it'll be fun to include them. Well then, until next time!

* * *

**Chapter 8: Chapter 8**

* * *

Quick note: I know Mahiru says she'll be fine without Shinya in the epilogue, but, well…you'll see why she's still there by the end of the next chapter :)

* * *

In the middle of a bright, crowded outdoor market, surrounded by people and vendors hawking their wares, Mahiru shivered violently.

_Sh-Shinya…_

She looked furtively over one shoulder, and then over the other, but there was no one suspicious to be seen.

_I kinda think you're just being paranoid_, Shinya said after a pause. _Who'd be followin' ya, anyway?_

_I-I don't know, _Mahiru replied fretfully, _but I just c-can't get rid of this f-feeling that someone's watching me…_

* * *

"I can't really tell whether Banba's onto us, or just being her usual jittery self," Haruki said, chewing on a stick of Pocky as she peeked around the corner of a stall.

Isuke lowered her sunglasses, glaring at the nervous white-haired girl over the rim.

"I can't believe we're doing this," she grumbled. "Stalking is a million _leagues _beneath Isuke 3"

Haruki looked back at her with raised brows. "Yeah? You did pretty well when you were stalking me," she said, grinning up at her cheekily.

Isuke redirected her glare from Banba to Haruki.

"I told you already, I wasn't _stalking _you, I was just—"

"Yeah, yeah. Just secretly skulking around and following me," Haruki chuckled, playfully swiping at Isuke's hat. "Oh, shoot, she's on the move again. Let's go."

Haruki was jogging off before Isuke could reply, and she silently fumed as she readjusted her dumb oversized hat to better hide her distinctive pink hair.

_That idiot. It's her fault we have to do this in the first place. Well, hers and that stupid rich girl's…_

**_One hour ago…_**

"Sagae-sama, Inukai-sama, I humbly welcome you both to the Hanabusa residence."

The butler bowed low to the ground as he spoke, and Isuke noticed Haruki fidget uncomfortably at the honorific he used.

"It's our pleasure to be here," Isuke said, fixing her usual smile firmly in place. "It's a lovely estate 3"

It was a _big _estate. Isuke had seen her share of mansions before, but Hanabusa's outsized them all.

_It's _too_ big_, Isuke thought to herself, scoffing. _Isuke, Mama, and Papa's home is much more stylish and comfortable_.

"The young mistress is taking tea upstairs. She said that she would be glad to have you both join her," the butler said, and gestured to the marble stairway. "This way, please."

Haruki, Isuke noticed, looked very ill at ease as she followed after the butler.

"What's there to be so nervous about?" Isuke asked, flicking a strand of hair over her shoulder. "It's just Hanabusa."

Haruki grimaced, looking anxiously around her.

"Everything just looks so expensive and fragile. I feel like I'd be billions of yen in debt if I even happened to accidentally brush against anything," she said with a nervous chuckle.

Isuke rolled her eyes.

"They clearly have money to spare; don't worry about it. Just follow Isuke's lead, and everything will be okay 3"

The easy part of getting into the Hanabusa estate was over; all she had needed to do was ask Mama to contact the manor and ask for a meeting with the young mistress of the household.

The hard part would be getting Hanabusa to agree to what Isuke asked.

_Still, Isuke always gets what she wants in the end~ It'll all work out somehow. _

Hanabusa was seated peacefully by the bay window when Isuke and Haruki entered the room, and she looked up with a placid smile.

"Ah, Sagae-san, Inukai-san, welcome," she said, rising gracefully to her feet.

The heiress looked the same as ever, perfectly put together in modest and obviously custom-tailored silks.

"Thanks, dude. It's been a while," Haruki said with her usual friendly smile.

Hanabusa nodded, her smile unwavering. "That it has. I hope you two have been well."

Glancing at the clock atop the mantelpiece, she added, "My, but how punctual you are. Shall we discuss your mysterious request over tea, Inukai-san?"

Isuke shrugged as she sat down at the table, staring critically at the ridiculously expensive china and porcelain tea set.

_She does have good taste_, she admitted grudgingly to herself. _The blend smells nice, too. _

"I'm going to get right to the point," Isuke said, watching as maids filed in to pour the tea and distribute cakes and biscuits.

"Please," Hanabusa replied serenely. "I do appreciate frankness."

Isuke told Hanabusa exactly what she needed her to do, ignoring the way Haruki stared at her in obvious confusion. She'd explain everything to Haruki later. For now, it was only important that Hanabusa understood.

The heiress seemed to get it just fine, and she sipped pensively from her teacup before saying, "I will not ask why you desire to have this accomplished, as I expect the reason lies in a personal wish. However, I do need to have one thing confirmed: is this all for Sagae-san's sake? I assume Sanada-san is somehow connected to her, since Sagae-san is joining you here today."

Isuke frowned, acutely aware of the way Haruki was staring curiously at her from the side.

_What the heck. The way she's phrasing it makes it sound like I'm going out of my way _just _so that I can somehow help out this idiot…_

_…__which is exactly what I _am_ doing. _

But Isuke would rather die than admit that out loud.

"Haruki's part of it, but Isuke has her own reasons too, you know 3" Isuke said, avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room.

Hanabusa was quiet for another moment before turning to Haruki and smiling again.

"Sagae-san, the maids are bringing up some more trays of sweets right now. Would you mind accompanying them to the kitchen and helping them bring some of the heavier trays?" she asked politely.

Isuke scowled.

_What the heck?_

The idiot was poor, sure, but Haruki wasn't Hanabusa's _servant_. Why should she do menial tasks like that?

Isuke opened her mouth to say all of this, but the strange look that Hanabusa sent her way gave her pause.

Haruki, the stupidly nice moron, just nodded and grinned.

"Sure, no problem. Be right back, Isuke-sama."

As soon as the doors swung shut behind Haruki, Hanabusa turned back to Isuke and frowned.

"Now that Sagae-san is gone, please be honest with me, Inukai-san. This is very important, and will determine whether or not I am willing to aid you in this endeavor. Are you doing all of this for the sake of Sagae Haruki? Sanada Ren-san is a dangerous enemy to make, and what you are proposing is no small task. I have difficulty imagining what other possible motive you could have outside of helping Sagae-san," Hanabusa said, brow furrowed.

Isuke scowled right back at her.

"Why are you so curious? And didn't you say you wouldn't ask about my motive?" she said, putting her cup back down onto the saucer.

"I am not asking about your motive, exactly. In truth, I simply wish to know what the relationship between you and Sagae-san is."

Isuke bit down on a biscuit, ignoring the heat that rose in her cheeks.

"We're friends," she said curtly.

"Not lovers?" Hanabusa asked.

Isuke almost choked on her tea.

"Wha—since when were you so nosy?" Isuke demanded, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

Hanabusa herself had colored faintly, and ducked her head as if embarrassed.

"I do apologize, but you must understand: this is very pertinent to my own set of…problems. To be entirely forthright, I was hoping that I might receive some…advice from you, Inukai-san," Hanabusa said hesitantly.

More confused than irritated now, Isuke arched a brow.

"Advice? Advice about what?"

Didn't Hanabusa have actual advisors for all kinds of business and professional matters?

Delicately clearing her throat, Hanabusa averted her gaze.

"Well…advice on how to…court someone. Romantic advice, if you will."

As Isuke stared at the other girl incredulously, Hanabusa went on quickly, "Specifically, how to court someone who hails from a significantly…different socio-economic background than you do. Considering the gap between you and Sagae-san, and how well you two get along, I just assumed…"

Isuke could feel a slow, amused smile slowly began to spread across her face.

_This is just too much 3_

"You're kidding me. This is about Banba, isn't it?" Isuke said, and smirked when Hanabusa flushed a light shade of pink.

_No way~ This rich girl is still chasing after that shy little loon?_

"I…I've never been so taken with anyone before," Hanabusa admitted, folding her hands in her lap. "She is so very dear to me, and yet…"

Looking back up at Isuke, Hanabusa said, "Have you ever seen the way Sagae-san looks at you? Her eyes are always filled with such trust and open adoration, and sometimes I just wish—"

"I get it, I get it," Isuke interrupted, amusement giving way to embarrassed irritation. _That idiot looks at everyone like that. She's just like a dumb, gullible little puppy. _

"So basically, you just want Isuke to hook you and Banba up," Isuke said, twirling her spoon inside the tea. "And then you'll do what I asked?"

"I don't necessarily need you to…ah, 'hook up' Banba-san and me. I simply wish that I could have a full conversation with her without it ending with her running away from me," Hanabusa said, sighing. "Or if you could even just discover why it is that she runs away from me in the first place…if it's because she genuinely dislikes me, then I will of course resolve to give her up."

Frowning slightly, Hanabusa continued, "I would like to entrust this task to you, Inukai-san, because of the similarities I see between my position and yours. However, if you are telling me that you and Sagae-san are not romantically involved after all, perhaps I am asking the wrong person…"

Alarm bells went off in Isuke's head.

This was not good. Hanabusa was a vital part of her plan; if they didn't have her money, then the whole thing would fall apart.

Gritting her teeth, Isuke tightened her grip on the teacup.

_This stupid rich love-obsessed moron…_

"No…I-I was just lying, before. We…Haruki and I…are lovers," Isuke lied slowly, feeling horridly uncomfortable.

Hanabusa lit up.

"Truly? You must be an expert in this field then, Inukai-san. My, how perfect; you two make a lovely couple."

Isuke forced a tight-lipped smile.

_I don't believe this…_

"In that case, I will help you, Inukai-san, provided that you at least attempt to help me in my endeavor as well. The Hanabusa surveillance network informed me that Banba-san was last spotted in the Shinjuku district. If you could perhaps start there…"

Deciding against commenting on the creepy fact that Hanabusa was having people _spy _on Banba, Isuke plastered on another saccharine smile and nodded.

"Leave it to Isuke 3 We'll have Banba in the bag for you in no time."

**_Present_**

"What is she doing?" Isuke groaned, fanning herself with a hand.

It was a sweltering summer afternoon, and that stupid girl was running around the outdoor marketplace, stopping at every single damned stall.

"Buying a lot of books," Haruki replied, squinting against the glare of the sun. "Cooking books, it looks like. Erm, if you don't mind my asking, Isuke-sama, why are we stalking her, anyway? Wouldn't it be easier to just walk up to her and ask what she's doing here?"

"Hanabusa wants to be _discreet_," Isuke replied, rolling her eyes. "She thinks that Banba will freak out and run away if anyone actually approaches her directly."

"Ah, well, that's not impossible to imagine," Haruki said, eyeing the timid girl. "Still, if she wants us to hook them up, just following her won't really accomplish anything."

Isuke made a noise of agreement but didn't move from her position hidden behind a stall.

There was another reason why Isuke wasn't approaching Banba directly, and that was because of the circumstances that had surrounded Isuke's last meeting with the other girl.

The last time Isuke had interacted with Banba, she had triggered some intense light phobia of hers and then kicked her halfway across a room.

_She…probably wouldn't be very happy to see me again…_

Looking up at Haruki, Isuke frowned.

"Why don't _you_ try talking to her? It wouldn't seem unlikely for you to be shopping in an outdoor market, and you're…_nice_."

Haruki snickered.

"You said that like it's some kind of swear word," she said, grinning down at her. "But okay. I'll give it a shot. Try to stay in the shade, Isuke-sama."

"Don't worry about me," Isuke grumbled, watching Haruki jog off.

She sighed, leaning tiredly against the stall as she checked her phone.

_It's August already…_

One year ago, Isuke would never have imagined doing something this ridiculous and tiring at all, let alone for someone else's sake.

Then again, one year ago, she hadn't yet met Sagae Haruki.

Isuke looked down at the calendar on her phone screen.

If she timed this correctly, then she'd be able to wrap everything up by the end of the month.

_And then everything will be all done. All by the end…of…August…_

August. It was the first of August today.

Blanching, Isuke suddenly felt a chill despite the scorching summer heat.

_If today's the first of August, then…_

Eleven years ago, today, he had…

Swallowing hard, Isuke brought a hand to rub furiously at her temples.

_Idiot. Are you going to act like this every year? It's been a decade already; get over it. _

Shaking her head, Isuke looked away and focused instead on Haruki's retreating back.

To her surprise, the other girl suddenly looked back, as if detecting Isuke's stare.

Waving a hand, Haruki grinned, and then went back to going after Banba.

Despite herself, Isuke smiled.

_Idiot. _

Just seeing her roommate's face made Isuke feel strangely better, and she threw her phone into her purse.

She had more important things to focus on now.

Besides, Isuke was nineteen years old now. It had been eleven whole years…

Sighing again, Isuke adjusted her hat.

Maybe the heat was starting to get to her.

It had been a while. She would be fine.

Shrugging her shoulders, Isuke zipped her purse shut.

_The first of August or not, Isuke will be just fine. _

* * *

"I-it's _really _too hot for this, Banba! Please stop running!"

To Haruki's mingled relief and surprise, the white-haired girl _finally_ stopped in her terrified flight across the marketplace.

Haruki dropped down into a crouch in front of her, panting.

_All I did was say hi. How did that scare her off? _Haruki wondered as she gasped for breath.

"U-um…h-here you go…"

Haruki looked up to see Banba timidly offering her a handkerchief.

Chuckling, Haruki took it with a grateful smile.

"Thanks," she said, pressing the cloth to her face. "Er…sorry I scared you. I really didn't mean to."

Banba herself seemed to be pretty out of breath, and she inhaled deeply a few times before shaking her head.

"Th-that…it wasn't Sagae-san's fault…it was just an a-automatic reaction," Banba stammered, staring at the ground. "I-I'm not—I'm not an assassin anymore, s-so I didn't want to talk to anyone who was…but then I remembered that Sagae-san was…was d-different, so I stopped…"

Haruki grinned.

"Ah, I get it. That's, uh, good to hear. That you're not in the business anymore, I mean," she said, straightening again.

Banba nodded shyly, still not looking at her.

"W-well, it was good seeing you, Sagae-san. I'll be—"

"Wait!"

Banba jumped, and Haruki grimaced as she continued in a slightly softer voice, "S-sorry, I didn't mean to shout. Er, if you don't mind, why don't we chat for a bit? Maybe grab some ice cream?"

The look of terror on Banba's face suggested that yes, actually, she did mind very much, but Haruki placed a hand lightly on her shoulder and persisted, "To be honest, I'm here to talk to you about your old roommate. Remember Hanabusa?"

If anything, Banba somehow managed to look even more scared.

"Y-y-yes," she said, looking very pale. "I remember."

Haruki frowned.

If Banba was acting like this, maybe things really were hopeless.

She decided to be direct.

"Look, do you have something against her? As far as I can tell, she's a really nice girl, and she seems to like you a whole lot, Banba," she said, shoving a hand in her pocket.

Banba, to Haruki's surprise, immediately shook her head.

"Th-that's not it! I-I also, really l-like…" she trailed off, and the faintest color flushed her cheeks.

Haruki stared, confused, as Banba bowed low to the ground.

"I-I'm sorry! I-if you can wait…until the sun goes down, th-then Shinya can explain everything…either tonight or t-tomorrow night," she said.

"Either tonight or tomorrow night?" Haruki repeated. "You can't tell me which one for sure?"

Banba shook her head, looking apologetic, and Haruki chuckled.

"That's fine, no need to be sorry. We'll be waiting, then. Where will I find you?"

Banba looked away.

"Shinya will…find you," she said. "P-please, stay in this room."

And then, shoving a pair of keys into Haruki's hand, she bowed again, turned, and ran away.

Haruki stared down at the keys, utterly mystified. They seemed like hotel keys for one she had seen nearby.

_…__huh. Well, Hanabusa's got her work cut out for her with that one…_

Still, kinda weird or not, Banba was cute and super sweet. She reminded Haruki of Kana, a little bit.

_Hanabusa's really pretty, too. She and Banba will make a nice couple. Hope we can get it to all work out. _

Turning around, she spotted Isuke still hiding behind that same stall.

Speaking of relationships…

Haruki chuckled to herself.

To think that she'd be matchmaking before sorting out her own relationships.

Still, Haruki couldn't say that she didn't enjoy this kind of work.

Besides, the sooner they sorted all of this out, the sooner they could take care of all the issues with Ren.

And the sooner Haruki took care of that…

She looked up to see Isuke staring back at her.

Seeing her roommate sent a strange but definitely pleasant kind of spark through her chest, and Haruki grinned.

Sure, Banba was cute, and Hanabusa was very pretty, but…

_Isuke-sama's the best, isn't she?_

Smiling, she jogged up to rejoin her roommate.

* * *

"How do we know this isn't some trap so Banba can kill us both in our sleep?" Isuke demanded as they stepped into the hotel elevator.

"Well, she said she wasn't in the assassination business anymore," Haruki said with a grin, hitting the button for the top floor. It seemed Banba had money to spare for a penthouse suite.

"And of course you would just believe her," Isuke muttered. "Are you even allowed to randomly leave the hospital for the night?"

Haruki responded with a carefree shrug.

"Who knows? To be honest, I'm kinda excited, Isuke-sama. This is my first time being in such a nice hotel with someone who isn't Ren," she said, readjusting the sling for her cast.

Isuke was quiet, and when Haruki looked up again, she was frowning at her.

"_This_ is nothing. When we both get discharged, Isuke will take you to the Park Hyatt in Tokyo," she said. "Before you know all, all of your memories of that old hag will be replaced with good ones with Isuke 3"

Haruki blinked, and Isuke suddenly flushed and turned on her heel to glare at her.

"Th-that—I didn't mean anything weird by that, okay? I just meant—"

Haruki chuckled, quirking a teasing smile.

"Inviting me to hotels already, huh, Isuke-sama? Pretty bold of you," she said, and snickered when Isuke scowled.

"…thanks, Isuke-sama," she said, squeezing her friend's hand. "But you know, my memories are already dominated by you. All the good ones, anyway."

Isuke flushed and muttered something about "saying embarrassing things with a straight face" before the elevator dinged and they reached the top floor.

The suite was huge and luxurious, and Haruki looked down in awe at the incredible view.

"Whoa, this is awesome! Check it out, Isuke-sama! You can see…Isuke-sama?"

Haruki turned at the silence to see Isuke staring moodily down at her phone, brows scrunched together in a frown.

"…is something wrong, Isuke-sama?" she asked tentatively, taking a step forward.

Isuke started, looking up and chucking her phone back into her bag.

"It's nothing," she said, and stalked past her to the minibar.

Haruki stared as Isuke opened the fridge, uncorked a bottle of chilled Belvedere vodka, poured herself a shot, and gulped it down.

…_uh…this…doesn't seem like nothing to me…_

Haruki quickly started forward once Isuke started pouring herself a third shot, snatching the bottle from her roommate's hands.

"Whoa, there, Isuke-sama, I kinda think you ought to slow down a bit," she said, peering at her friend worriedly.

What was going on, all of a sudden?

_Isuke has been a little quieter than usual since I rejoined her after talking to Banba…did something happen while I was gone?_ Haruki wondered, putting the bottle of alcohol back into the fridge.

Isuke was scowling, already flushed a light pink.

"Isuke is going to take a shower," she announced, and then turned and walked off towards the bathroom.

Haruki stared after her in bewilderment.

She rewinded the events of the day in her head as she took a shower in the second bathroom, combing through each hour to see if anything could have triggered Isuke's abrupt change in mood.

_It had to have happened while I was talking to Banba…but I was even gone for that long. What exactly…_

When Haruki stepped out of the bathroom a few minutes later, she found Isuke already sleeping on the king-sized bed, curled up beside the same bottle of vodka she had been drinking from before.

Shaking her head, Haruki pried the bottle from Isuke's fingers and then tucked her roommate into the sheets, covering her with the silk blankets.

_She had been looking at her phone earlier…maybe someone sent her some kind of upsetting email or text? _

Whatever the reason, Isuke was clearly displeased enough to down two shots (or possibly even more, considering how she had been holding the bottle) of hard liquor.

While Haruki doubted that Isuke was new to drinking, going straight for the strong stuff and then passing out in mere minutes definitely pointed to something being…off.

Scratching the back of her head in puzzlement, Haruki sprawled out on the plush sofa.

_Definitely weird. _

But Haruki could hardly wake Isuke up now and ask her about it.

_This whole day was kinda weird_, Haruki mused, glancing back at her sleeping friend. _Maybe it's the summer heat getting to everyone's heads._

Stretching out comfortably, Haruki sighed.

She had kind of been hoping that she'd get a chance to talk to Isuke tonight, but plan that was clearly out the picture now.

_Ah, well. _

Haruki closed her eyes.

_There's always tomorrow, I guess…_

* * *

Every year on the first of August, Isuke dreamed of a little boy with pink hair just like hers.

Isuke would always turn away from the boy, steadfastly ignoring his presence.

But then, eventually, she would always turn back to look at him.

And the boy would cling to her and cry, like he used to do eleven years ago.

When that happened, the boy would cry until his voice gave out, and until he didn't have the strength to continue.

And then the boy would close his eyes, dying in her arms.

* * *

In the middle of the night, Haruki woke up to the sound of strange, choked noises.

Bringing a hand groggily to her eyes, she slowly sat upright.

_What the heck is that?_

They were desperate, almost whimpering sounds; sounds that a scared child would make.

Were they coming from another room?

_No, that's impossible. This is a suite, _Haruki thought dazedly.

It took Haruki a full minute before she finally realized that those noises were coming from the king-sized bed beside her.

All drowsiness vanished.

Haruki leapt to her feet, leaping over the sofa to reach the bed.

She found Isuke tossing and turning in the sheets, feverishly muttering someone's name.

For a moment, Haruki could only stare incredulously, unable to believe that it really was Inukai Isuke she was seeing and hearing.

But a soft, pained cry from her roommate snapped Haruki out of her shock, and she climbed into the bed beside Isuke without even thinking.

_She's having a nightmare. _

Haruki shook the other girl urgently, and called out to her when she failed to respond.

"Hey, Isuke…Isuke-sama!"

Isuke jerked awake, eyes flying open.

And before Haruki could say or do a thing, Isuke clutched at her shirt with trembling fingers.

"I saw him again," she said breathlessly, in a weak voice that Haruki had never heard from the other girl before. "Mama, I saw him again…"

_Oh, crap. She thinks that I'm…_

Haruki shook her head determinedly, pushing down her rising panic.

Haruki wasn't Isuke's mama or papa, but she was her friend.

And Haruki had a lifetime of experience in comforting kids after nightmares.

Gently pulling her friend in to her chest, Haruki rocked the shaking girl soothingly back and forth.

"Shh, it's okay. Everything's gonna be alright, okay?" she said, rubbing slow circles on Isuke's back.

Isuke's breath hitched, and Haruki looked sharply down at her friend.

To her relief, Isuke's amber eyes were dry; but they were also wide and unfocused.

"I-I saw…he appeared again, and he was crying again, Mama, and I couldn't…I just—" she stammered, her grip on Haruki's shirt tightening.

_Crying…again? Who is she talking about?_

Haruki pulled Isuke in closer, brushing cool fingers comfortingly over Isuke's damp forehead.

"It was just a nightmare, Isuke. You're okay," Haruki murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her friend's head. "Everything's going to be okay."

Isuke swallowed audibly, burying her face in Haruki's collar.

"It's not okay. I'm okay, but he's not okay, Mama. If you had just come…just a few weeks earlier, then…"

She slowly went quiet as Haruki continued to rub her back and murmur calmingly in her ear, and her breathing gradually returned to normal.

As she patiently waited, Haruki thought back to the strange way Isuke had been behaving just before going to sleep.

_This nightmare has to connected to that._

When Isuke finally looked up again, her gaze was slightly less clouded.

"H…Haruki?" she said uncertainly, peering up at her in the darkness.

Haruki managed a small grin, squeezing her roommate's shoulder.

"Yeah, it's me, Isuke-sama. I…I'm sorry I'm not your mama, but just the same: I've got you, alright? Everything's going to be okay."

Isuke looked exhausted and dazed, and her eyes dropped downward again.

A long silence passed, with Haruki patiently continuing to soothe her roommate until her shaking stopped.

It disconcerted her to see Isuke like this, and it unnerved her even more when she realized that normally, Isuke probably would've gotten angry by now at the way Haruki was soothing and stroking her like she was a kid.

_Whatever nightmare she had, it really shook her up, _Haruki thought, looking worriedly down at her friend. _And it definitely has to do with whatever was bothering her earlier. _

Isuke was frowning slightly, still seeming fatigued and disoriented.

"This is a dream, isn't it?" she asked suddenly, leaning tiredly into Haruki's chest. "I'm still asleep, aren't I? Isuke would never show this to anyone but Mama."

Haruki blinked, gnawing on her lower lip for a second before replying, "What do you mean, Isuke-sama?"

Isuke let out a weary-sounding sigh.

"I mean acting like a pathetic little baby, obviously; I would never act like that in front of anyone except Mama. Why is dream-Haruki just as dense as regular Haruki?" she said, closing her eyes. "And why are you here, anyway? It's bad enough that you're always floating around in my thoughts…now you're invading Isuke's unconscious, too?"

Isuke, Haruki realized, was babbling.

She was exhausted and drained from her nightmare, and probably a little drunk too, from the alcohol she had drunk right before she had gone to bed. Now she was babbling, still in a half-dreamlike state.

After a short pause, Haruki chuckled.

"…yeah. This is all just a dream. But it's a safe dream, okay, Isuke-sama? The nightmare's over," Haruki said, smiling down at her friend.

Isuke furrowed her brow in a weak version of her usual scowls.

"Idiot." Her speech came out almost slurred, and she slowly opened her eyes again. "I'm not…a little kid. I wasn't having…a nightmare."

Haruki nodded reassuringly, slowly stroking Isuke's hair.

"'Course you weren't. But whatever it was, it's all over now, Isuke-sama," she said.

Isuke fell silent, and her breathing was so quiet and steady that for a moment Haruki thought she had fallen asleep again.

But then she opened her eyes and frowned.

"How is it that even the dream version of you is so stupidly nice? And…and why…"

Isuke stared up at her from under her lashes, lids half-closed with fatigue.

"Why does just hearing your voice make me…feel better?" she asked, shifting her head to lean on Haruki's shoulder. "Seeing your face did the same thing, earlier. You're not Mama, but…"

Haruki chuckled, affection for her friend temporarily overwhelming any worry or panic.

"Well, I like Isuke-sama a whole lot, and I'll always keep you safe, just like Isuke-sama's mama does. So you have nothing to worry about with me here, okay?" she said, grinning down at the other girl. "You can go ahead and sleep, Isuke-sama. I'll be right here."

Isuke's gaze dropped downward.

"Corny and embarassing, as usual…"

Her eyes slowly drifted upwards again.

"...how do you still…have the same effect on me…even in my dreams?" she mumbled, fingers twisting in the collar of Haruki's shirt.

Haruki stared at her roommate blankly, wondering if Isuke was babbling again.

"You're asking a lot of questions, Isuke-sama. I think you're tired. And uh, a little drunk, too. Close your eyes and rest up, alright?" she said, gently attempting to lay Isuke back down onto the bed.

"No," Isuke replied, her grip on Haruki's shirt surprisingly strong. "Isuke doesn't want to. Not yet…"

She adjusted her position so that she was leaning more comfortably against Haruki's chest, and Haruki realized with a start that her roommate was close. _Really _close.

"Um, Isuke-sama…" she began, suddenly aware of the way that Isuke's boy was still pressed against hers, and the fact that her bare legs were tangled up with Haruki's, and—

_J-jeez, this is not good. Pull yourself together, Haruki. She was just having a really bad nightmare, for crying out loud. Now's not the time. _

"You've never appeared in my dreams before. Isuke…wants to take advantage of the opportunity," Isuke murmured.

A thousand different alarms instantaneously went off in Haruki's head.

_She's really confused. Really disoriented. Sorta drunk. She doesn't know what she's saying. Now's _really_ not the time. _

Apparently, Isuke disagreed.

Because the second that Haruki made a move to move away was the second that Isuke pulled her down and kissed her.

It was so abrupt that Haruki didn't even get what was happening at first.

She could feel the softness of Isuke's lips as they moved against hers, she could smell the light, fresh scent of Isuke's shampoo, and she could taste how sweet Isuke's mouth was, but Haruki couldn't grasp the fact that Inukai Isuke was actually _kissing_ her until she felt her roommate's tongue slide along her sealed lips, seeking entrance.

_Whatwhatwhatwhatwhatthehellisgoingonrightnow—_

Planning on voicing the whirlwind of befuddlement ripping through her mind, or at least getting Isuke to stop for just a second so she could have a second to _think, _Haruki made the mistake of opening her mouth.

Isuke's tongue slid past her parted lips, and all of Haruki's thoughts utterly fizzled out.

All her confusion, unease, and panic gave way to an immediate swell of desire, and Haruki shuddered as Isuke pulled back for breath.

"H-Haruki," Isuke breathed against her lips, and the last tattered remnants of Haruki's self-restraint and logic teetered precariously over the ledge.

_Hold on a sec, Sagae Haruki. She's not herself, you idiot. She was just freaking out and thrashing around a few minutes ago, and she's clearly really dazed and confused. And she drank a lot before. You'd be taking advantage of her if you did anything right now. You'd be _taking advantage_ of her. You'd be a creepy _creepy_ creep. Stop it, Haruki. Snap out it!_

_But, _replied the sly voice in her head that Haruki was really beginning to hate, _she clearly wants to be comforted right now. That's why she's doing this, isn't it? She was just freaking out, like you said. She needs someone to comfort her, not push her away. And this is clearly the method of comfort that she wants from you. _

Isuke helped this voice's argument along when she pressed her lips against Haruki's again, threading her fingers through Haruki's hair. Haruki could feel her tongue slide along hers, and—

_Don't you _dare_ kiss her back, you moron! If you do, there's no coming back. You _know_ this. _

_But she clearly wants you to, so why not? It's just kissing. _

_It's the principle that counts. You'd be a creep!_

_No, you'd just be giving her what she obviously wants. _

_Isuke doesn't even like you that way. _

_And how do you know that? She's kissing you, isn't she? _

_She acting tired and weird and drunk! She thinks she's dreaming!_

_When you're drunk, you just have lowered inhibitons. Even in dreams, all she's doing is what she's always wanted to do—_

"No. Nonononononono, we're not doing this," Haruki gasped out, finally cutting off that stupid inner voice that kept _arguing _with her.

Taking Isuke by the shoulders, she pushed her firmly back. "Isuke-sama, you were just calling for your mama, right? If your mama is the one that usually comforts you, there has to be another way to comfort you than this way."

_That's right. Isuke was calling for her parents, and this _definitely_ isn't what her parents would do in order to calm her down. _

Haruki couldn't help but groan a bit at the loss of contact, but gritted her teeth and determinedly pushed Isuke down onto her bed, rapidly tucking her into the sheets before the other girl could so much as reply.

"S-sorry, Isuke-sama," she said, lowering herself into a bow on the bed and trying very very hard not to think about how incredible Isuke's lips had felt moving against hers. "I'm really sorry, but we absolutely can't do this right now. You're not yourself, and it wouldn't be right. If there's anything else at all that I can do for you instead…"

To Haruki's immense relief, Isuke responded with a short, sleepy laugh.

Staring up at Haruki through half-lidded eyes, she smirked.

"It figures that even dream-Haruki would be stupidly chivalrous like this…but Isuke isn't drunk, you know. I have a very, very high tolerance…"she mumbled, shifting so that she was lying on her side.

She closed her eyes.

"But, well, if you're going to insist on being your usual, overly noble self, even in Isuke's dreams, then…I'll just go into a different dream," she said, letting out a quiet sigh. "One where you're not so...overly noble."

Haruki cleared her throat and hesitantly edged a little bit closer to her.

"Th-then, should I just leave you to sleep? Or, er…go to a different dream?"

Isuke slowly shook her head.

"Stay…here. Unless…dream-Haruki is too noble…for even that…"

Isuke's head drooped, and she went quiet.

_...she's asleep. _

After a moment of stunned indecision, Haruki collapsed beside her roommate.

She suddenly felt bone-tired.

Her mind whirred with a million different severely panicked thoughts, and her continued proximity to the girl who was causing all of these panicked thoughts wasn't helping matters.

_Isuke just kissed me. She just _kissed_ me. What—why would she…?_

Haruki thought back to the time Isuke had kissed her inner thigh; she took a deep, calming breath.

_Okay, dude. Calm down. Maybe it's like that time. Maybe she just tried that to get back at me for…something. _

But what had Haruki done to provoke that kind of reaction? She couldn't think of a single thing, especially since they had just been sleeping for the past few hours.

Besides, Isuke had seemed far too disoriented and groggy to have been contemplating anything like revenge or retaliation. She seemed to have been acting purely on…

_On what? On desire?_

No, no, that was impossible.

Haruki swallowed hard, looking at the girl now sleeping peacefully beside her.

_When I'm only half-awake, I tend to just ramble and say silly things. Maybe that's what Isuke was doing. _

The kiss was just…a really random action.

Haruki had seen people do really weird things when half-asleep before, like pouring beer into their cereal, wearing their pants on their head, kissing the dog instead of the spouse…

_But…all of those things are rooted at least a little bit in a conscious desire, aren't they? A desire to pour something into the cereal, a desire to wear something on their head, a desire to kiss _someone_…_

So maybe…

Haruki's gut clenched uncomfortably at the new possibility this idea brought up.

_Maybe Isuke just wanted to kiss whoever she had been dreaming about? She had been muttering some guy's name…_

Clearing her throat, Haruki sunk down into the covers.

Her head was starting to hurt.

At…at the very least, Haruki was relieved that Isuke seemed okay now.

_I'm glad I managed to calm her down. _

As Haruki lay there beside her roommate, she slowly realized that this was the first time that she had been in any position to help Isuke, and not the other way around.

For the past week, and even at Myojo, Isuke had always been the one helping her out in her own Isuke-sama-ish way, giving her advice and offering solutions to Haruki's problems.

Haruki, meanwhile...

_…__I don't even know about any of Isuke's problems. _

Haruki hardly knew anything about Isuke's past at all, aside from the fact that she wasn't biologically related to either of her dads.

And it had taken this entire incident for Haruki to figure that fact out.

_Dammit…what the hell have I been doing?_

A kiss should really have been the least of Haruki's worries right now.

Wrapping her uninjured arm slowly around the other girl, Haruki sighed.

"…and you're the one always telling me to be more selfish," she said, smiling apologetically at her friend.

Before she started worrying about the kiss, Haruki should have been working on finding out what had caused Isuke's nightmare in the first place.

_I have to help her out too, once in a while. I have to start pulling my own weight around here. _

Haruki nodded decisively, her frayed nerves slightly soothed.

It wouldn't be good to pry, but if she could slowly try and get Isuke to talk about whatever she had dreamed about, maybe Haruki could begin helping her for a change.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

_Yup. That's what I'll do. The kiss was the last thing you should've been thinking about, Sagae Haruki. It wasn't…it really…_

But Haruki couldn't help but touch her lips and think back again to the feeling of Isuke's mouth against hers.

Regardless of the meaning or reason behind the kiss, there was one thing that Haruki couldn't deny: she had really, _really _liked it.

_Sheesh. The second I find out that I really like her that way, all of these things keep happening. _

Turning over onto her side, Haruki smiled ruefully at Isuke's sleeping face.

"...well, you've definitely convinced me that I really, really like you, Isuke-sama," she said, brushing a hand affectionately over Isuke's cheek.

_As if I even needed more convincing. _

Isuke didn't stir, her expression once again undisturbed and tranquil.

Despite everything, Haruki chuckled.

"Sleep well, Isuke-sama. I'll be right here."

* * *

A/N: **If you were confused about who the boy was,** please check out the eyecatch in episode 8 (it has Banba's picture but Isuke's information, for some reason).

Relationships are all about reciprocity, right? It's time for Haruki to help Isuke out, too :) Though Isuke's problems may not be as immediate or obvious, I definitely think that it'd be difficult for someone to live through the death of their little brother and years worth of severe parental neglect without any lasting consequences whatsoever on the psyche. So yeah. If you're still a bit confused, hopefully everything will become clear by the end of the next chapter :)

Ha. So the kiss in this chapter actually wasn't the one that I was asking you guys to be patient for, lol. This kiss doesn't really count as their first one. It's like kiss number zero. Their preliminary kiss, or something, for reasons that you'll discover in the next chapter. I've got something more special planned for their first real kiss together, so please wait just a bit longer for that! :) Also lolll I'm sorry. I don't mean to tease with all of these incomplete kisses, but this time it wasn't my fault. It was Haruki's. Believe me, I totally would've liked for them to keep going, but y'know, Haruki strikes me as the kind of person who wouldn't do anything unless she was 90000000% positive that full consent was given. So it's her fault this kiss didn't become super steamy and such. Blame Haruki. I'm innocent.

This chapter took forever to write, partially because I wasn't sure about the order I wanted to do things in and kept rewriting everything, and partially because this week was super busy. But the good news is that since I kept rewriting stuff, the next chapter should hopefully be up soonish! Or not, since it's the 4th of July tomorrow, lol, and parties and barbecues galore. We shall see! :) Also...people requested an appearance for pretty much every single member of Class Black haha (except Kouko. Poor Kouko. It's okay, you still have Irena-senpai) but since I'm not quite sure I'll be able to find a purpose for each one of them, some of them might get bigger roles than others. I'll try to fight them all in, though! :)

One last thing: I've been getting a few messages/reviews about possible illustrations, lol. I'm very very sorry to say that my artistic abilities are nonexistent. If any of you guys are talented with drawing, then it'd be totally awesome and cool to see something done by you, but I'm afraid that you won't be seeing any drawings for this story done by me. Unless you want to see stick figures, which I can totally do. Or maybe not. Even my stick figures kinda suck.

Well, then, please leave any feedback you want to, as always, and see you next time! And Happy Almost 4th of July, folks! :D


	2. Chapter 3

**Chapter 9: Chapter 9**

* * *

Quick note: Someone asked me whether I purposefully leave the names in the East Asian order of family name first followed by surname instead of changing it to the Western order, and the answer is yup, haha. I'm sorry I didn't mention it sooner; I tried writing their names as Isuke Inukai, Haruki Sagae, etc. at first, but after getting so accustomed to hearing it the other way, it felt weird, haha. Like writing Zedong Mao instead of Mao Zedong, you know? So yeah, haha, names are all in Eastern order. Sorry I didn't mention that earlier!

*Zainichi are just ethnic Koreans living in Japan, while haejangguk is a relatively popular hangover cure, at least among Asians, lol

* * *

For the first hour after Isuke woke up the next morning, she could do absolutely nothing except lie paralyzed in bed and wish she were dead.

This agony of mortification was not in the least bit helped by the fact that Haruki kept contentedly nuzzling against Isuke's neck as she slept, nor by the fact that Haruki was the most ridiculously heavy sleeper in the world; she didn't stir no matter how Isuke attempted to shove the idiot away from her.

Normally, Isuke wouldn't care less about something as innocent as nuzzling (it was something even pets did, after all), but Haruki's proximity reminded Isuke all too strongly of every single _unbelievably_ idiotic thing she had done the night before.

Haruki sighed into the crook of Isuke's neck, and Isuke couldn't suppress a shiver even as she glared down at the still sleeping girl.

_It's all your fault. Everything is your fault, _Isuke fumed, covering her crimson face with her fingers. _I don't know how, but somehow this is all your fault, Haruki. _

Despite the effects of the alcohol and grogginess, Isuke remembered absolutely everything she had done, from letting Haruki see her in that _humiliating_ position after the nightmare to that—that _kiss_.

_That _kiss_. How could I be so so _so_ stupid?_

Isuke was never herself on the night of the first of August. She never really could be, with all the dreams and memories that flooded back to her.

But she had never, ever done anything so disgustingly idiotic, even when she had been a child.

Glowering at the ceiling, Isuke shook her head.

_Why did I…_

But of course Isuke knew why.

She had kissed Haruki because she had really _wanted _to.

Haruki's voice had been gentle and kind in her ear, her body had been soft and warm; after the sweep of fear and guilt that seeing _him _always brought, Haruki had been like a salve for her raw nerves.

And Isuke had just…

Bringing her fingers to her lips, Isuke flushed scarlet again.

Considering all of the many kisses Isuke had ever experienced, she found it a little strange that she enjoyed one where the other person didn't even kiss her back so much.

_The idiot was too shocked to even move, _Isuke mused with a very slight smile. _And then she had to be all chivalrous and stop me…_

Isuke's smile vanished the second that she realized that she had been smiling at all.

_W-why am I smiling? This is _nothing _to be smiling about. _

Isuke groaned, rubbing her temples.

"This is the worst…"

Isuke never lost control like that. She was supposed to be calculating and cool, pragmatic and…and…

Sagae Haruki was utterly _ruining _her.

_If only yesterday hadn't been the damned first of August, _Isuke thought darkly. _I always get stuck with the worst timing 3_

She didn't know how she was even going to begin to explain either the nightmare or the kiss to Haruki.

…_I just won't. I don't have to if I don't want to, and I definitely don't want to. And since Haruki is too nice to press me on it…_

Isuke frowned.

That tactic might work with the nightmare, but the kiss…

Isuke's gaze fell on the bottle of vodka on the counter, and she narrowed her eyes.

_Maybe…_

Haruki had seemed convinced that Isuke was slightly drunk the night before, and Isuke had drunk at least two or three shots back to back right in front of her.

_Having fuzzy memories after a night of drinking is very common, and if I pretend to be hung over…_

Then Isuke could pretend that she didn't remember a thing about the night before.

And they could just move on without acknowledging any of it, and everything could be completely forgotten—

_But do you really want Haruki to forget about it all?_

Isuke scowled at the fleeting moment of doubt.

Of course she wanted her to forget.

Nothing good could come out of Haruki finding out about the nightmare; it'd only lead to talking about _feelings_, and other stupid sentimental nonsense like that.

And as for the kiss…

A low groan cut into Isuke's thoughts, and she looked down to see her roommate finally beginning to stir.

Haruki opened one eye, peering sleepily up at Isuke.

Isuke swallowed hard as the usual grin spread across Haruki's face.

_Why is she so irritatingly attractive? _Isuke demanded of herself, averting her gaze. _B-but never mind that, idiot. Start up the act. _

"'Morning, Isuke-sama," Haruki murmured, stretching out and yawning.

Throwing an arm over her eyes to better hide any telltale blushing, Isuke grimaced as if in pain.

"Not so loud, idiot," she muttered, remembering how every single sound gave her a massive headache whenever she had a hangover.

Furrowing her brow in what she hoped was a convincing wince, Isuke continued, "And stop moving around so much…Isuke feels sick."

Haruki looked alert immediately, eyes widening with concern that sent a stab of guilt through Isuke.

"Do you have a hangover? You were drinking a lot last night," Haruki said, staring worriedly down at her.

Staring at a spot somewhere over Haruki's head, Isuke replied, "It seems Isuke misjudged her tolerance level…"

Clearing her throat, she added, "I can't remember a thing that happened last night."

Isuke waited tensely for a response, but Haruki was quiet.

Peeking through half-closed eyes, Isuke saw the other girl staring silently down at her; her gaze was penetrating and her expression was contemplative, but she didn't say anything.

The silence worried Isuke.

_Was my lie too obviously a lie? This idiot is supposed to be gullible, so why—_

"Well…if that's what Isuke-sama says, then…"

Haruki's voice, nonchalant and almost carefree in tone, startled her.

Haruki was grinning again, and she sat upright.

"But if you really have a hangover, Isuke-sama, I know just the thing to help. In fact, I saw a stall nearby that was selling exactly what you need," she said, getting to her feet.

Isuke stared at her, confused and slightly uneasy.

_Did…did she buy it, or…?_

"Just sit tight, Isuke-sama. I'll be right back!"

Haruki was out the door before Isuke could reply.

"What the…what kind of reaction was that?" Isuke demanded, sitting up in bed.

The idiot had been surprisingly hard to read after Isuke had told her lie, and with her rushing off like that, Isuke had no idea what to expect from her roommate.

Isuke didn't have much time to think about it either, because minutes later the door banged opened and Haruki jogged in carrying a bowl of some steaming hot liquid.

Despite the show of weakness and sensitivity that Isuke was supposed to be putting on, she couldn't help but violently recoil when Haruki set the bowl down beside her.

"W-what _is _that?" she demanded, staring at the broth distastefully.

"_Haejangguk,_" Haruki replied cheerfully. "The _zainichi_*are masters of hangover cures. Whenever Dad had hangovers, he would try coffee, ginger, and a million pills, but nothing helped as much as this stuff that one of our _zainichi _neighbors brought over one time. I just ran and got some from one of the stalls in the market right outside."

Looking at the strange soup warily, Isuke said, "So it's Korean food? What…what is that red stuff?"

"Congealed ox blood, I think," Haruki replied casually.

Isuke shuddered, face twisting in revulsion.

"That's disgusting! Do you honestly expect Isuke to eat something that has _ox blood _in it? I wouldn't eat that even if—"

Isuke stopped abruptly, and Haruki smiled.

"Even if you were really hung over?" she finished for her.

Too late, Isuke realized that she was sitting up and getting way too worked up for someone who had supposedly been nauseous and exhausted just minutes beforehand.

And too late, Isuke realized that if anyone who was as hung over as she had claimed she was would've agreed to eat anything to stop the pounding headaches and nausea.

_Oh, this is just great. _

"Th-that…I—"

Excuses and lies died on Isuke's lips at the kind smile on that suddenly-perceptive idiot's face.

Isuke stared at her roommate blankly as Haruki patted her head.

"If you don't wanna talk about what happened last night, Isuke-sama, you don't have to. There's no need to pretend to be hung over," she said, settling down on the bed beside her. "And no need to pretend to have forgotten everything."

Isuke said nothing, glaring at the tiles on the floor.

Since when was she so transparent?

"I-I didn't…I'm not pretending, I really don't remember," she insisted, but her tone was weak and unconvincing even to her own ears.

"Right," Haruki said, chuckling.

She got back to her feet.

"…I wouldn't ever force you to talk about anything, Isuke-sama. But…if you ever feel like you can trust me enough, and if you think I can help at all, I'll be right here, okay?"

There was a strange, almost sad note in Haruki's voice, and Isuke looked up sharply to see her roommate staring ruefully at the ground.

_…she thinks that I'm putting up this act because I don't trust her enough? _

Isuke frowned.

"This has nothing to do with _trust_," she said, falling back against the pillows. "Where did that even come from?"

Haruki shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Ah, sorry to presume. It's just…that was just the first thing that popped into mind. That I…wasn't reliable enough to depend on, you know? And I really can't blame you for thinking that way, since you've been the one helping me all this time, and—"

"Don't be an idiot."

Haruki stopped talking and stared at Isuke, wide-eyed and bemused.

"…Isuke-sama?"

Isuke's grip on the sheets tightened, and she furrowed her brow as she gazed intently at the other girl.

"I don't want to talk about last night because it was _humiliating_, not because I don't think I can depend on you."

Haruki looked uncertain.

"But I…if I can, I want to help you, Isuke-sama. I've just been taking your help all this time, and—"

"There's nothing to help," Isuke interrupted again, impatiently. "I don't need any help. I just… had an unpleasant dream."

She looked away.

"If you want to help Isuke, you'll just drop it, okay? 3"

_I don't even like talking about this stuff with Mama, _she thought, frowning. _I don't like talking about it at all. I don't even want to think about it. _

But Haruki seemed to droop dejectedly, and Isuke knew that the _idiot_ was probably still thinking that it was her fault, somehow, that Isuke was refusing to discuss the night before.

Sighing, Isuke rubbed her eyes, suddenly feeling tired again.

"…I just had a dream about my brother, all right?" she said finally, reluctantly looking back at her roommate.

Haruki's brows went up, and she stared at her with open surprise.

"You have a brother, Isuke-sama?"

"Had a brother," Isuke corrected curtly. She looked up to stare at the spinning ceiling fan. "He died eleven years ago."

Haruki was utterly silent, and Isuke swiftly got to her feet.

"Look, Isuke isn't looking for a pity party, okay? 3 I've told you that much just so you'll get that stupid idea of yours out of your head. This has nothing to do with you being undependable, or anything dumb like that," she said, avoiding looking anywhere near Haruki as she got off of the bed.

"We have a lot to do today, too, so let's get moving. We can use the day to conduct other business and still be back here in time to meet with Banba at night. If we go out now—h-hey!"

Isuke stiffened as she felt an arm encircle her waist, pulling her back against Haruki's chest.

Immediately beginning to squirm, Isuke craned her neck back in an attempt to glare at the other girl.

"I told you already: I'm fine, so let go of me, and let's—"

"Hey, Isuke-sama…do you ever take your own advice?"

Haruki's voice was soft and unusually serious; Isuke scowled at the bizarre question.

"What are you talking about?"

"…when's the last time that you cried, Isuke-sama?" Haruki asked.

Isuke stopped moving; her grip on Haruki's arm tightened.

"…don't you dare try to suggest that we're similar in that way. I don't cry because I don't need to. I'm not _sad _or secretly depressed or something, Haruki," Isuke muttered, staring down at her slippers.

_…and I cried more than enough for that boy a long time ago. _

"I'm not saying that you are," Haruki replied. "It's just…I don't know. It's not…it's not a terrible thing to let yourself…have feelings, you know?"

She spoke slowly and hesitantly, squeezing Isuke once as if in comfort, or something.

And Isuke couldn't help but let out a short, soft laugh.

_This idiot…this nice, stupidly sweet, overly thoughtful idiot. _

"You already saw me crying out like a stupid little baby last night. You're joking if you honestly think I'm going to stand here and talk about my _feelings_ after something as embarrassing as that," she began, rolling her eyes.

Isuke could feel Haruki nod behind her, and she heard a little sigh.

"Yeah, I understand. Sorry for—"

"But…if I ever do want to talk about my feelings…eventually…in the far, distant future…you'll be the idiot that I talk to, okay?" Isuke finished, and Haruki's arm a very, _very_ brief squeeze.

Haruki unexpectedly let her go, and Isuke turned around to face her roommate.

"Satisfied?" she asked, tossing her hair nonchalantly over her shoulder.

She then not-so-nonchalantly jumped in surprise when Haruki twirled a strand of Isuke's hair around her finger, gently bringing the lock to her lips.

"I am. More than satisfied," Haruki said, some of her usual joviality returning to her voice. Looking up at Isuke with a grin, she brushed her lips against the silky strands. "Thanks for the honor, Isuke-sama."

Despite her tone, Haruki's eyes were bright with emotion, and she added, more seriously: "I'll always be right here whenever you need me. I promise."

After about a three-second pause, Isuke backpedaled and then spun on her heel before Haruki could see the blush that she knew was definitely coming.

"O-obviously. It's the least you can do, after all the work Isuke is doing for you 3" she threw over her shoulder, walking rapidly towards the bathroom.

_What is with all of her stupid, corny lines? And what the heck was with kissing my hair? Does she think we're in a shoujo manga, or something? _

Isuke pressed a cool hand to her cheeks and glowered at the bathroom door.

What was worse was that Haruki was actually making all of these stupid shoujo-manga moves _work_ on her.

Isuke stifled a groan of mortification.

Sagae Haruki was most _definitely _ruining her.

It was only when Isuke reached the bathroom that something occurred to her.

_…that idiot didn't mention the kiss at all. _

* * *

Right as Haruki was finishing washing her face, she heard a knock on the door.

Throwing her towel over her shoulder, she frowned as she jogged towards the door.

Was Banba here early?

_No, that's impossible. It's in the middle of the morning, and Banba specifically said that Shinya'd be coming to visit. _

Isuke followed her out of the bathroom, still wearing her towel after showering.

"Check who it is before opening the door," she warned, pulling one of her knuckle knives out of her nearby purse. "This is Banba's suite, after all, and who knows what kind of weirdo visitors that girl would get~"

Haruki obeyed, peering through the peephole.

Ichinose Haru beamed right back at her.

_What the—_

Opening the door, Haruki stared incredulously when she really saw Haru standing right there in the doorway, with Azuma standing behind her.

"H-Haru-chan? What are you—"

"Wah! Haruki-san! You really _are_ here!"

With a noise of delight, Haru bounded forward and clasped Haruki's hand in between her own.

"Shiena-chan said that you'd be here, and she was right about the locations of all the others, but Haru and Tokaku weren't so sure if she was right this time, since—ah, um, since…"

Haru trailed off awkwardly, and Azuma finished calmly: "Since you're too poor to afford a place like this."

"T-Tokaku!" Haru cried reproachfully.

Despite being completely at a loss as to why or how her two former classmates had come here, Haruki couldn't help but laugh.

Seemed these two were the same as always.

"It's okay, Haru-chan; she only said what anyone would be thinking," Haruki said, snickering. "But yeah, this place isn't actually mine. I'm just kinda…borrowing it, for the time being."

Azuma raised a brow.

"It belongs to Inukai, then," she said.

Haru looked startled.

"So you really do still keep in touch with Isuke-san, Haruki-san? Shiena-chan said that you two would be together, but—"

"Inukai turned and ran back into the bathroom as soon as she saw us," Azuma stated. "She was only wearing a towel. Give Sagae the diplomas, and then let's get going, Haru. These two are clearly busy."

Haru went scarlet, jaw going slack, and Haruki rapidly shook her head.

"Whoa, no, th-that's not—we're not—it's not like that!" she said, laughing awkwardly. "It's a long story, but Isuke-sama is helping me out with something, and so…"

"So you two decided to come to a hotel together. Sharing one room. With one bed. Understandable," Azuma said, utterly deadpan. "Give them the diplomas, Haru."

Haru, still crimson, lowered herself into a low bow.

"Haru is so sorry for disturbing your private time, Haruki-san. We just came to give you and Isuke-san your diplomas from Myojo, and Haru was thinking maybe we could grab breakfast and catch up, but if you two were…um…busy, then—"

"Give me a break~ Haruki just said it wasn't like that. Are you two deaf, or something? 3"

Isuke emerged from the bathroom fully clothed (or as fully clothed as Isuke ever got, anyway) and toweling her hair off.

She leveled a flat glare at Azuma, gesturing irritably to her wounded and broken arm.

"Isuke can't believe you have the nerve to show up here after what you did," she grumbled, tossing the towel onto the counter. "Totally shameless 3"

"You were trying to kill Haru," Azuma stated, brow furrowing, and Isuke rolled her eyes.

"Well, I didn't succeed, did I? But whatever, that's not important. What did you two just say about Shiena? You managed to find us with her help?" she asked, frowning slightly.

Haru nodded, smiling brightly again.

"Yes! When Haru and Tokaku first started looking for everyone to give out the diplomas, we happened to find Shiena-chan in a web café, and she's been helping us find all the other members of Class Black ever since! She's amazing with computers!" she explained, handing two diplomas to Haruki. "She can do anything with them!"

Isuke chucked her diploma back onto the bed before saying, "I heard that scruffy nerd was a computer geek; this just confirms it."

Turning to Haruki, she said, "We have to go and get her to help us. If she's really some kind of master hacker, then we can just use her instead of one of the people I mentioned on that list I showed you. It'd save us some time and trouble 3"

Haruki blinked.

"Kenmochi can?" Haruki wasn't sure where a hacker would figure into Isuke's plan, but she nodded once. "Haru-chan, sorry for asking a favor after you already went through the trouble of bringing these diplomas—"

"Isuke didn't even want hers," Isuke declared, scoffing.

"—but do you think you can show us where Kenmochi is, too? We'd really appreciate it," Haruki finished, putting her diploma gently down onto the table behind her.

"The last time we were with Inukai, she tried to kill us both," Azuma said. "If this is a favor for her—"

"Tokaku," Haru interrupted chidingly. "Haru wants to put the past behind us and have fun with our old classmates. Can we? Please?"

She looked up at Azuma with wide, doe-like eyes, and Haruki thought she saw the faintest blush rise in Azuma's cheeks as she frowned and looked away.

"…do what you want," she finally replied, turning to walk away.

Haru beamed, turning back to Haruki and saying, "Then, let's have a double date, Haruki-san! Shiena-chan is busy doing…something strange in the computer lab. Haru thinks it has something to do with Myojo, but…but anyway! Shiena-chan comes out for lunch at noon, so afterwards, Haru will bring you and Isuke-san to her."

"Don't want to~" Isuke replied immediately, looking bored as she examined her nails. "Just bring us to her now. This double-date stuff sounds stupid and boring 3 Isuke—"

"Sure, Haru-chan. We'll come up with you now," Haruki interrupted, and smirked in amusement when Isuke bristled.

"I just said that I don't want to," Isuke said, scowling. "Why should we have to—"

Haruki let her hand land onto the top of Isuke's head, and she affectionately ruffled the soft pink locks.

Smiling in response to Isuke's indignant glare, Haruki said, "Let's go, Isuke-sama. We owe them that much, and besides…I think it'll be fun. I've never had the time to do anything like this before, you know?"

Isuke, brows drawn together in clear annoyance, opened her mouth, looking like she would argue…and then huffed.

"Fine, then. Though Isuke is beginning to suspect that your idea of 'fun' is different from hers," she grumbled, swatting Haruki's hand off of her head.

Haruki chuckled, smiling at her roommate appreciatively.

"Thanks, Isuke-sama."

She turned back to Haru, who had been watching the entire exchange.

"Lead the way, Haru-chan. We'll go wherever you want to," she said, grinning.

Haru, for some reason, looked a bit…starry-eyed.

"W-wow…Haru has never seen Isuke-san so docile before, Haruki-san! You two must be really close!"

"D-_docile_?" Isuke sputtered in outrage. "I'm not some kind of _pet, _you stupid, obnoxiously cheerful—"

"Don't talk to Haru that way," Azuma warned, and before Isuke could retort, Haruki guided her roommate out of the suite and into the hallway.

"All right, all right, let's get going, yeah? Save the fighting till we get to the restaurant, at least," she said with a chuckle.

As the other three moved into the elevator, Haruki paused for a moment, feeling a strange, sudden chill.

_What the heck?_

She looked around, but the feeling vanished just as abruptly as it had come.

"Haruki-san!"

The other three were waiting for her, and Haruki forced a smile in response to Haru's inquisitive stare and Isuke's arched brow.

"Is something wrong?" Isuke asked.

Haruki frowned, trying to shake off her sudden sense of unease.

"No, I…I don't think so. Let's get going," she said.

Even as the elevator doors closed, her disquiet persisted.

_For a second…it almost felt like I was being watched. _

That was impossible, considering they were on the top floor of the hotel, but…

* * *

Over the course of breakfast, Isuke rolled her eyes so many times she almost thought they would fall out of her head.

_These two are almost as disgustingly lovey-dovey as those two that had tried to off themselves together, _Isuke thought as she watched Haru spoon-feed Azuma yet another mouthful of her parfait.

Azuma always put on a show of being indifferent, but Isuke knew that if she hadn't secretly liked it, the antisocial girl would've just flat out told Haru to cut it out.

_So cute~ It makes Isuke absolutely sick 3_

Looking around, Isuke frowned.

Haru had picked out some tacky café, filled with cutesy waitresses decked out in overly frilly uniforms.

"Aaaand here you go, Sagae-san. _So _sorry for the wait."

Twitching at the sound of that high-pitched and annoying voice, Isuke turned to glare at the cherry on top of this unbelievably irritating morning out.

One of the aforementioned cutesy waitresses decked out in overly frilly uniforms stood by their table, beaming down at Haruki as she set a crepe in front of her.

"Whoa, looks delicious," Haruki said, grinning up at the waitress. "Thanks a lot."

The waitress giggled but didn't leave, and Haruki turned to smile at Isuke.

"Your food's the last to come out, huh, Isuke-sama? You should try some of mine as you wait," she said, sliding the plate towards her.

Just as Isuke opened her mouth to respond, another giggle erupted from the stupid waitress who was _still_ standing by their table.

"Isuke-_sama_? What kind of relationship do you two have, Sagae-san?" she asked, sidling up closer to the booth.

Looking up in clear confusion, Haruki offered a tentative smile. "She's a friend of mine," she replied affably.

"Oh…so just friends then?" the clerk said coyly. "That's great to hear, isn't it?"

Isuke stiffened at the _glaringly _obvious flirtatious tone that the clerk used.

_What does she think she's…_

"Er…sure? We're really good friends." Haruki, as expected, remained completely oblivious.

"Well, her loss is my gain, isn't it?" the waitress said before winking and then flouncing off towards the bar.

"Wow, Haruki-san is really popular, huh?" Haru observed, smiling. "Tokaku is really popular with girls, too."

Turning to Isuke, Haru added, somewhat bashfully, "How do you deal with it, Isuke-san? Haru never knows what to do."

"Why are you asking me?" Isuke snapped, still glaring after that stupid, tacky waitress. "We're not practically _married_ like the two of you are."

_Cheap make-up, obvious nose job, padded breasts—does that skank honestly think she has a chance against Isuke? 3_

After a beat, Isuke wrinkled her brow, suddenly baffled over her own thoughts.

_…wait, why am I getting so annoyed? And why am I suddenly competing with that stupid waitress?_

It was almost like Isuke was…was…

"Don't talk to Inukai now, Haru," Azuma said, staring seriously over her plate at Isuke. "She's being jealous and possessive, and she'll take her anger out on you."

Isuke outwardly scoffed even as she inwardly cringed horribly.

Jealousy. Possessiveness.

These two unfamiliar feelings were _exactly _what were bothering Isuke about this entire situation, and the realization mortified her.

_Isuke doesn't get jealous over people. Other people get jealous over Isuke. This whole situation is not how things are supposed to work. _

But Isuke _was _getting jealous, and Haruki…

Isuke frowned, looking back at the other girl.

Haruki was strangely quiet and clearly distracted, uneasily looking around her. She obviously hadn't been listening to a word of the entire conversation.

_Back at the hotel, before we left, she was also…_

"What's wrong with you?" Isuke demanded, snapping her fingers in front of her roommate's face.

Haruki jumped in surprise before clearing her throat and smiling apologetically.

"S-sorry, Isuke-sama. It's just…I just can't shake this feeling I'm getting. Like we're being watched," she said, and Isuke thought she understood.

"Oh," she said dismissively. "That's probably Ryo. He's the spy Isuke hired to follow us around and make sure that no other spies are watching us."

Isuke had asked Mama to hire him as soon as she had started to put her plan in motion. It wouldn't have surprised Isuke in the least if Ren sent spies after Haruki, and so there was a definite need for caution. And Ryo had come highly recommended, having been a friend of Mama's for a long time.

Haruki looked startled, and then smiled in obvious relief.

"Oh, is that what it is? Wow, always one step ahead, huh, Isuke-sama?" she said, chuckling. Visibly relaxing, she began to dig into her crepe.

"Well, that's a relief. Sorry for spacing out like that," she said, putting her fork down again.

Isuke was about to reply when _again _a high pitched trill cut her off.

"Here's your food," the waitress said, carelessly dropping Isuke's plate in front of her.

She turned back to Haruki and leaned forward, brushing a hand against her shoulder.

"Sagae-san, I told the manager that we have a _super_ cool customer with us today, and so she told me to give you a drink of your choice on the house! What would you like?" she asked, simpering.

All of Isuke's previous embarrassment and shame at actually being _jealous _flew out the window as the waitress continued to giggle, lean forward, and _touch _Haruki everywhere.

_That's really enough of that 3_

Dropping her fork with a clatter, Isuke said, "Haruki…you have cream on your face."

Haruki turned back to Isuke in surprise.

"Oh, shoot, really?" she said, grabbing her napkin.

Shaking her head, Isuke flashed a sweet smile.

"Hold on~ I'll get it."

Stretching her hand out, Isuke ran a finger slowly and deliberately over Haruki's lower lip, wiping the cream from the crepe off with her thumb.

And then, fully aware that Haruki's, Haru's, Azuma's, and that stupid waitress's eyes were all fixed on her, she brought her finger to her lips and sucked it clean.

"There 3" she said.

Haruki went crimson, Haru squeaked in mixed embarrassment and excitement, Tokaku arched a brow, and the waitress…

The waitress met Isuke's gaze and scowled, acknowledging her defeat before turning and walking away.

Smirking to herself, Isuke turned back to her food and decided that maybe breakfast would be a little bit of fun, after all.

* * *

"Hmm…well, I think I can pull off what you're asking me to do. If I managed to hack into Myojo's server, even some mega-billionaire's private files shouldn't be problem. Thing is…there's still some danger involved in this, and so I won't be doing it for free."

"But Shiena-chan, you've been helping Tokaku and Haru for free!" Haru protested. "Classmates should help each other out!"

Shiena waved a hand, not looking up from the glowing computer screen.

"That's because you two had nothing to offer me, and what you wanted me to do was easy. Messing with Sanada Ren-san is different." Continuing to type furiously, she said, "Well, Inukai? Favor for favor?"

Isuke, looking distastefully around the dark, cramped quarters of the internet café, replied, "I have to hear this favor first."

Shiena finally looked up from her keyboard, turning around and frowning.

"…there's this boy I know through my organization. He's being bullied relentlessly by the other boys in his grade for being overweight and…well, a bit awkward, and he sought help from my group. But…" Shiena sighed. "He's soft. He doesn't want the boys hurt; he just wants to be left alone."

Cracking her knuckles, Shiena turned fully in her chair.

"There's this big school trip to Enoshima Beach planned for tomorrow, and he's already getting taunted for how he's going to look in a swimsuit. He said that all the guys are talking about all the girls they're going to try and pick up there, and—"

"Ah, I can already see where this is going, and the answer is no way 3" Isuke interrupted, seating herself in one of the folding chairs. "Isuke is not going to go flirt with some random loser just because he doesn't have the guts to stand up for himself."

Shiena scowled and then swiveled back in her seat to face her computer again.

"Fine, then. I won't be helping you, either."

"That's fine," Isuke said, shrugging. "We'll just go with my first plan, then."

Getting back to her feet, Isuke twiddled her fingers briefly at Haru and Azuma before turning to the door.

"Well, we'll be going now. Breakfast was surprisingly not as horribly boring as Isuke thought it would be, so thanks for that 3" she said, beginning to walk towards the exit.

A hand on her shoulder stopped her.

Isuke turned to see Haruki staring at her, and at the look in her eyes she already knew what her roommate wanted to say.

Rolling her eyes, Isuke shook her head.

"No, Haruki, we don't have the time to do something as stupid and pointless as this. Unlike with Hanabusa, we can easily replace Shiena with someone else. Besides, Banba's coming tonight, and we have no idea what that loon is going to want us to do. We still have to finish up the business with Hanabusa before we accept any more dumb jobs," she said, resuming her walk to the exit.

"Ah! Isuke-san, Haruki-san, are you leaving?"

Haru sounded sad, and Isuke heard Haruki say, "No worries, we'll be back, Haru-chan."

"No, we won't," Isuke called over her shoulder, pushing open the door.

"We'll definitely be back. Kenmochi, print out the details of this school trip, okay? We'll pick it up later. See you guys soon!"

"Don't count on it 3" Isuke insisted, glaring at Haruki as she followed her out the door.

Haruki caught her wrist, pulling her back.

"Isuke-sama—"

"_No_, you idiot. Don't drag Isuke into your dumb moral obligations. That loser can be bullied forever, for all I care, and there's _nothing_ you can say that'll change my mind."

Five minutes later, Isuke was cursing Haruki, her stupid niceness, and her stupid puppy-dog eyes that had the stupidest, most irritating, and most inexplicably influential draining effect on Isuke's willpower.

Isuke had been right; there was nothing Haruki could _say_ that changed Isuke's mind. But all the idiot had done was look at her pleadingly, and then…

"They'll all reach the beach around 3:00 pm, so plan to be there a bit beforehand. Here's the itinerary," Shiena said, handing Isuke a slip of paper.

When Isuke only glowered sullenly at it, Haruki took the sheet with a chuckle.

"Then, you'll take care of everything Isuke-sama asked you to, right?" Haruki asked, smiling.

"Right away," Shiena promised. "Sanada Ren won't know what hit her."

Shiena gave an almost sinister little chuckle as she rubbed her hands together.

"To be honest, I'm a little excited. This together with exposing Myojo will be my biggest challenge yet!" she exclaimed, turning back to the computer.

As Isuke was in the process of rolling her eyes again, she noticed Haru staring at her.

"…what?" she demanded.

Haru smiled.

"Ah, it's just…you've changed, Isuke-san. Maybe not a whole lot, but you've definitely changed," she said. "It's a good change! Haru is happy to see it. And Haru thinks she knows why you changed, too."

Haru glanced not-so-furtively at Haruki before beaming at her, and Isuke just sighed

"Oh, shut up," she grumbled.

But she could hardly argue when she knew that the stupid girl was right.

* * *

The sun was setting by the time Haruki and Isuke made it back into the suite, and Haruki turned to grin at her roommate.

"We made it just in time for Shinya!"

Her grin faltered at the weak glare Isuke shot her way, and Haruki watched in slight concern as the other girl staggered to the couch.

"…you okay, Isuke-sama?" Haruki inquired, sitting down on the arm of the couch as she peered down at her roommate.

They hadn't done anything particularly taxing that day.

In fact, after talking to Shiena, they had spent the rest of the day walking around the city and talking with Azuma and Haru.

Well, Haru and Haruki had really done most of the talking.

Isuke had occasionally interjected with some biting remark, which had usually provoked an annoyed response from Azuma, but aside from that, the other two had been more or less quiet.

"Did walking around tire you out?" Haruki asked, unable to think of any other possible reason.

Isuke sprawled out on the couch and scowled up at her.

"Isuke gets tired when she's forced into doing things that she hates 3" she said, poisonously sweet. "And guess what Isuke was doing _all _day today?"

Haruki chuckled, understanding, and dropped down onto the floor beside the couch.

Leaning on the cushion beside Isuke's head, she grinned at her displeased roommate.

"…I see. Today must've been rough on you, huh?" she said.

Isuke huffed.

"My shoulders are all stiff, and my feet are sore, and—"

"Then, lemme make it up to you, Isuke-sama."

Getting up again, Haruki circled to the end of the couch and then settled by Isuke's feet.

"…what are you—"

"I used to do this for Mom all the time," Haruki explained, taking off her cast's sling before taking one of Isuke's small feet into her hands.

Being careful not to apply too much pressure, Haruki slowly began to massage the top of Isuke's foot, working her way downward to the arch.

"H-hey," Isuke said, sitting upright and looking down at her agitatedly. "Idiot, your arm is still broken; you shouldn't be doing things like this."

"It's my arm that's broken, not my hand," Haruki replied easily, smiling up at her. "And it's my left hand that's doing most of the work, anyway. Just lie back and relax, Isuke-sama. I'll do this till Shinya gets here."

"That could hours from now. Stop being stupidly nice and let g—a-ah…"

Isuke let out a low groan of pleasure as Haruki kneaded the arch of her foot, and Haruki could feel the muscles slowly begin to relax.

Haruki grinned.

"Not bad, huh? Try to relax, Isuke-sama. I'll do your legs next, then your shoulders," she said, gently rubbing the heel with her thumb.

Isuke didn't seem to want to listen, still sitting upright as she frowned down at Haruki.

"Isuke's not actually all that tired, so you really—"

"Even if you're not tired," Haruki interrupted amiably, "I want to do this for you, Isuke-sama. You…really did a lot for me today, Isuke-sama, and I want to thank you."

Agreeing to go to breakfast, agreeing to help Shiena, and agreeing to spend the rest of the day with Haru and Tokaku; these things might not have seemed all that significant for anyone else, but for Isuke…

_She definitely didn't want to do any of it. If it had just been her by herself, she probably wouldn't have done any of it. But since I asked, she did, _Haruki thought, smiling at the other girl.

"You're…a really, really good friend, Isuke-sama," she said sincerely. "I think…probably the best I've ever had."

Isuke visibly squirmed a bit, averting her gaze.

"That says something about your choice of friends," she scoffed, looking off to the side somewhere.

Haruki laughed.

"For someone so prideful, you really underestimate yourself sometimes."

Isuke was briefly silent, and as Haruki switched to her other foot, finally said:

"You too. For…for me. You're…" Isuke trailed off, looking uncharacteristically uneasy and hesitant.

Haruki smiled.

"...I know. Thanks, Isuke-sama," she said.

Isuke cleared her throat, colored faintly, and then attempted to jerk her foot out of Haruki's grip.

"Anyway, c-cut this out, already. I told you I'm fine," she said, trying in vain to break free.

Haruki chuckled, her grip like iron.

"Actually, I have to admit I have a bit of an ulterior motive, Isuke-sama. I…kinda want to talk to you about something, and I don't want you running away," she said.

Isuke went rigid, her eyes suddenly widening, and Haruki guessed that Isuke knew exactly what she wanted to talk about.

Dropping her gaze, Haruki suddenly felt very awkward.

"U-uh…I know I promised that I wouldn't bring up what happened last night if you didn't want to talk about it, but…er, this is kinda unrelated to the nightmare. I think," she began, and finally released Isuke's foot.

Now that the topic had been broached, Isuke was free to do whatever she wanted.

If she didn't want to talk about it, Haruki would respect her wishes. And if she did…

Swallowing hard, Haruki looked up to meet her gaze.

"A-about the kiss, Isuke-sama—"

A loud crash made them both jump; Haruki stared in stunned bafflement as a white blur dropped down onto the bed from the ceiling vent.

"Yo…fine night, ain't it?"

Shinya straightened, rising from the bed and grinning wolfishly.

"It feels damn good to be out and about again! Guess I have you two to thank for that," she drawled, getting to her feet. "Whoa, and what a comfy bed! No wonder Mahiru picked this room."

As Shinya snickered to herself, falling back down again to lie on the bed, Haruki watched in complete silence.

_Well…that's definitely the weirdest way I've ever seen the mood killed before, _she mused.

But to her surprise, she felt a brief squeeze on her hand; she looked back to see Isuke staring fixedly down at the couch, face flushed red and her hand covering Haruki's.

"…w-we'll talk about it later," Isuke muttered, before jerking her hand back and getting to her feet.

"About time you showed up~ Isuke hates tardiness, you know 3" she said, walking off towards the bed.

Haruki stared after her, feeling her own face begin to heat.

_J-jeez…this is no good. _

Getting to her feet, she grinned shakily.

Forget about just liking Isuke.

Haruki shook her head and chuckled.

At this rate, she'd end up in love with her in no time.

* * *

Ryo watched as his client and her friend made their way back into the hotel room.

_Would give anything to see what they got up to in there, _he thought, grinning to himself. _But Eisuke'd probably gut me if I even tried. Or worse, he wouldn't pay me. _

Job done for the day, Ryo turned and started back home.

_Pretty easy job. And pretty boring so far, too. _

As Ryo made his way down the street, he noticed two cars slowly approaching him from a distance.

He narrowed his eyes, his hand going to the gun hidden underneath his jacket.

_Guess I spoke too soon. _

The first car rolled up to the curb, and a man rolled down the window.

"Calm down, Fujisaki Ryo-san. We're not here to pick a fight," the man said, smirking.

Ryo watched warily as the man got out of the car, opening a briefcase.

The briefcase popped open, and Ryo's jaw dropped.

"100 million yen. And there's more where that came from, if you're willing to listen," the man said.

"I'm listening," Ryo replied immediately.

The man chuckled.

"My name is Morita Kensuke," he said, "and I work for one Sanada Ren-sama. If you are willing to fill my employer in on all the details that you were originally hired to protect…then we will give you ten times what your original employer gives you."

It took Ryo only a few seconds of very brief contemplation.

"Deal," he said, and grinned.

_Sorry Eisuke, but your friendship's only worth so much. _

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Kensuke was muttering for his men to come and drag Ryo's corpse from Sanada-sama's room.

Swallowing hard, Kensuke lowered himself into a deep bow.

"D-did he bring very bad news, Sanada-sama? Please tell me what I can do to ease your burden," he stammered.

Ren was completely silent, and when Kensuke chanced a glance up, he saw her lounging listlessly in her chair, a pistol dangling from her fingers.

"…Inukai…Isuke," she finally said, very quietly. "The late Fujisaki Ryo-san informed me that Isuke-chan has been going in and out of hotels…with Haruki. They stay in one room together, and then in the mornings, they go out to visit some of their old classmates from Myojo."

Sinking low into her seat, Ren continued, "It seems that Isuke-chan not only plans to steal Haruki away…but she's also planning something against me with those young assassin friends of hers."

Kensuke flinched when he heard Ren laugh.

"...do you know why I hate Inukai Isuke, Morita-san?"

Kensuke shook his head.

"N-no, Sanada-sama, but I'm certain it's justified."

"…it is. That girl and her parents…have done something somewhat like this to me before. But this time…I won't let her win."

Ren got to her feet, and Kensuke willed himself not to move as she made her way towards him.

"Tell me, Morita-san. Do you find Inukai Isuke attractive?" she asked, her voice a near-purr.

When Kensuke couldn't respond, not knowing _how _to respond, Ren laughed again.

"No need to look so scared, Morita-san. I won't hurt you for being honest."

Kensuke slowly nodded, watching his boss uneasily.

"Objectively, Sanada-sama, she's attractive, yes," he said.

Ren, to his relief, looked pleased.

"That's right. I thought you'd say that. And tell me…do you think those Yakuza hirelings of yours would also find Inukai Isuke attractive?"

Finally realizing where his boss was going with this, Kensuke responded with a slow smile.

"Yes…I think they would. Very much so."

Ren patted his head, smiling broadly.

"You've been a good boy, Morita-san, and so have your hirelings. I think you all deserve a little…treat."

Ren's hand suddenly tightened in his hair, and Kensuke winced as his boss glowered down at the ground, eyes abruptly darkening with loathing.

"Teach Inukai Isuke a lesson. I want that prideful, mocking _slut _down on the ground, crying and begging for mercy. Do you understand me?"

"Y-yes, Sanada-sama!"

Ren released him, turning on her heel.

"…and enjoy yourself, too, while you're at it. As you said, Inukai Isuke is a very attractive girl. I'm sure your boys will appreciate this fact thoroughly by the time the night is through."

Settling herself down on the chair again, Ren sighed.

"And after you've all had your fun..."

Ren picked up the gun, her lips twisting into a distorted smile.

"...kill her."

* * *

**Chapter 10: Chapter 10**

* * *

quick note: I'm really sorry, but although I got a lot of questions in reviews and PMs last chapter, I'm super, super sleepy right now lol and I don't even know what I'm writing so I would probably be totally nonsensical in my response if I even attempted it. But I promise I'll answer all your questions in the next chapter! Either that or I'll try and edit this story tomorrow and answer your questions in this note here :) Please leave any feedback you wish, as always, and thanks!

also urgh why is this chapter so long it killed me.

* * *

"Hoooahhh! That hit the spot!"

Isuke stared, torn between being disgusted and grudgingly impressed as she watched Shinya finish her ninth bowl of katsudon.

_Why hasn't she exploded yet? _Isuke idly wondered, staring at the other girl's skinny frame. _Where does she pack it all?_

"Thanks," Shinya said, grinning at Haruki, who was openly gaping at the stacks of empty bowls. "You're not half bad. Almost makes up for the fact that ya never told Mahiru that this bitch would be here."

Shinya jerked a thumb towards Isuke, who scoffed.

"What, still sore over what happened at Myojo? It wasn't Isuke's fault you have some weird light phobia~" Isuke said, leaning back against the sofa.

"It was your fault that ya shone the damn lights in my face, though," Shinya retorted, getting to her feet. Shrugging, she continued, with her signature feral smile, "But whatever. Mahiru seemed to get braver 'cause of that, so I won't be holding a grudge."

Turning the bath, she said, "That aside, it's Jacuzzi time!"

And, cackling wildly, Shinya sprinted off towards the large bathtub, pulling about ten rubber ducks out of nowhere and chucking them all into the water before diving in herself, fully clothed.

"…uh…huh…"

Haruki had also gotten to her feet, and stared after Shinya with an expression of mixed amusement and disbelief.

"Split personalities or not, sometimes it's really hard to believe that Shinya and Mahiru are the same person," she said, chuckling as she watched Shinya splash around in the water.

"They're both unbelievably weird 3," Isuke replied, shaking her head. "At this rate, we'll never get anything done."

Haruki shrugged, grinning as she turned to face her.

"She said she'd tell us everything after dinner and a bath. With any luck—"

"Oy, bitch! Grab me a towel, would ya?"

Within the span of a few seconds, Shinya had somehow managed to get naked and covered in soap suds, and lay half submerged in the bath as she grinned at Isuke.

"…is she talking to me? 3" Isuke wondered aloud, a smile fixed on her face even as her fingers twitched for her knives.

Loudly clearing her throat, Haruki hastily placed a placating hand on Isuke's shoulder and said, "I-I'll get the towel, Isuke-sama. You just hang tight and uh…don't stab anyone, okay?"

Isuke watched, glowering, as Haruki jogged over to Shinya with a fluffy towel slung over her shoulder.

_That idiot gets along well with everybody, _Isuke thought as Haruki made some lighthearted comment about Shinya's rubber ducks, prompting snickering from the other girl.

She made friends with everyone, from weirdos like Banba to…

_Well, to people like me_, Isuke mused, with a sardonic smile. _I guess that's one of those stupid qualities about her that I—_

Realizing that she had been about to finish that thought with something as horrifically corny as "_that I like so much,_" Isuke gave a violent shake of her head and stalked forward towards the bathtub.

Shinya looked up, smiling widely as she squeezed one of the rubber ducks and made it squeak.

"Ya want a duck too?" she said, waving a particularly bright yellow duck in Isuke's direction. "Your girlfriend wants this one, but you can take any of the others. I've got plenty!"

Isuke was right about to respond with an annoyed "she's not my girlfriend" when she remembered the lie that she had told Hanabusa.

_And if Banba were to expose the dumb lie to Hanabusa…_

Laughing, Haruki shook her head. "Ah, no, Shinya, it's not like tha—"

Haruki jumped slightly at the light kick that Isuke aimed at her shin.

Ignoring her roommate's bewildered stare, Isuke said to Shinya, "No, I don't want a stupid duck. I want you to hurry up and tell us whatever dumb thing you came here to say 3"

Shinya snickered again, wrapping the towel around her body and getting up out of the bath.

"Ah, yeah, I get it, I get it. Wanna get rid of the third wheel as soon as possible, huh?" she drawled, stepping onto the marble tiles. "Guess I'm intruding in on a love nest, huh?"

"Yes," Isuke said, studiously avoiding Haruki's gaze, "you are. 3 So if you'd hurry and get to the point as to why you're here…"

Shinya nodded, falling lazily down onto the sofa and smirking up at her.

"Well, it goes like this: Mahiru's been hiding out in ritzy places like this hotel ever since we were booted from Class Black," she began, examining a rubber duck as she sprawled out on the couch. "Visiting nice restaurants, going to museums…doing what rich people do. She's been tryna learn fancy manners, y'see."

Isuke arched a brow, bemused.

"Why would either of you ever need to learn manners? It's not like you're part of high society or…something…" Isuke trailed off as comprehension dawned, and beside her, Haruki snapped her fingers in realization.

"Are you—or er, is Mahiru doing this for Hanabusa?" she asked, smiling. "Since Hanabusa's an heiress and a socialite, and all that."

Shinya shrugged.

"Yeah, somethin' like that," she said, and, snickering, she rubbed her ears. "Jeez, Mahiru is freaking out right now. She's super embarrassed 'bout it, I guess."

Isuke frowned, seating herself on the edge of the bed.

"What a waste of time~ That stupid rich girl is obviously heads over heels in love with you. Both of you. You don't need to bother learning _manners_," she said, rolling her eyes.

Shinya coughed, and though she was still grinning just as cockily as ever, there was the slightest hint of something almost like discomfiture as she shrugged again.

"Yeah, well, I guess this whole thing is kinda my fault. Learning manners and all that…it's 'cause Mahiru's tryna find the best way to apologize to Sumireko," she said, finally tossing the rubber duck to the side.

"Apologize? For what?" Isuke asked, pulling a bottle of water from the minibar. Uncapping it, she idly wondered how long this stupid thing would take. _We have to go the dumb beach tomorrow, too…_

"For kissing her outta nowhere one night, I guess," Shinya said with a laugh; Isuke almost choked on her water.

_You're _kidding_ me, _Isuke thought in disbelief as she coughed and hacked violently. _I actually did something that this loon did. I have as much self-control as the crazy, hammer-wielding maniac with two personalities has. _

"Hey, I think your girlfriend's choking," Shinya observed with a snicker, and Isuke immediately straightened before Haruki could reply.

"I-I'm _fine,_" she rasped, waving a very concerned-looking Haruki off. The last thing Isuke needed was for that idiot to be near her now.

Cocking her head slightly to the side, Shinya said, "It was my bad, but I couldn't really help myself, y'know? Sumireko was right there, sitting on my bed and all, and Mahiru had been wantin' to kiss her for a while, so…I just did it."

Shinya looked a little thoughtful as she rubbed her chin.

"But Sumireko just kinda froze up, and then with Mahiru panicking and telling me to run away before Sumireko got mad, I finally listened and hightailed it outta there. Then the next day was the day me and this bitch over here tried to off Haru, and then we were booted outta Myojo…"

Scratching her head, Shinya smirked as she finished, "I haven't seen Sumireko since. Mahiru's convinced she hates us both now, which is why she's been avoiding her like the damn plague till she's figured out the best way to apologize."

Isuke was silent, mind only half occupied with what Shinya had just said.

_Apologize? She's going to apologize? Is that…is that what I should be doing?_ she wondered, brow wrinkling in a bemused frown.

Apologizing to anyone ever was already a completely foreign concept to Isuke; apologizing for _kissing _someone was even more so.

After all who wouldn't want a kiss from Inukai Isuke?

Tapping her boots agitatedly against the ground, Isuke scowled at the rubber duck lying by Shinya's feet.

_Isuke didn't even apologize to Banba for kicking her, or to Azuma for throwing her out a window, or to Haru for trying to kill her. Choosing to apologize _now _to Haruki for kissing her, of all things, would be absolutely ridiculous. And stupid. And…_

Isuke chanced a glance back at Haruki, and instantly turned away again when she saw that the other girl was already looking at her.

Stifling a groan of irritation, Isuke sighed instead.

Haruki was different. Isuke knew that much.

_So if I have to apologize…then…I'll apologize. _

Isuke cringed. Even the word _apologize _sounded woefully pride-crushing.

"I, uh…don't really think you need to apologize, Shinya."

Both Isuke and Shinya turned in surprise to Haruki, who offered a somewhat tentative grin.

"I don't think you need to apologize," she repeated, stuffing her hands into her pockets as she leaned against the table. "I mean…Hanabusa definitely likes you. I know this for a fact. And it's not like she pushed you away or anything, right?"

She paused, waiting for a response, and when Shinya nodded, continued: "I mean, I definitely think you should talk to her, you know, to clear things up. But uh…just because she froze up doesn't mean she's angry or anything."

Rubbing the back of her neck, Haruki added, in a slightly quieter voice: "Just because she didn't kiss you back doesn't mean she didn't like it, you know?"

For just a fraction of a second, Haruki's eyes rose to meet Isuke's.

The room was entirely quiet as Shinya lay back and digested this information, Haruki colored and awkwardly kicked her legs, and Isuke went a rather bright shade of crimson before gulping down half the water bottle to relieve her suddenly hot and desert-dry mouth.

_Was she talking about…? She was _definitely_ talking about—_

"Huh. Well, I guess that makes sense," Shinya said, sitting upright.

After another moment of silence, she grinned.

"Yeah, that makes perfect sense! I should go and talk to her now, before Mahiru chickens out," Shinya said, getting to her feet.

"What?" Isuke said sharply, also rising. "No, you can't leave now. It's already 10 o'clock; by the time you get to the estate, it'll probably be around midnight, and the guards will think you're some kind of maniac." _Which you are, but still. "_Besides, you need a permit to even get anywhere near the Hanabusa residence. Just stay here for tonight, and Isuke will bring you to her tomorrow afternoon 3"

That way, Isuke could also make it clear that it had been her (and Haruki) that did the job, and they could assuredly receive Hanabusa's cooperation.

Sighing, Shinya settled down again.

"Jeez, you're boring as hell. Fine, I'll wait till tomorrow," she said, and stretched out on the couch again.

Smirking, she added, "Guess I can count on you two for romantic advice, huh? Probably should've just come straight here instead of wasting my time learning manners by going to damn tea parties and stuff."

Shinya snickered, wiggling her fingers around as she closed her eyes.

"Upside is that I can hold a teacup without breaking the thing now. Took a helluva lot of practice, too. Delicate things are so damn…delicate."

Shinya went quiet, and it took Isuke a second to realize that the girl had fallen asleep, right there on the couch.

"…Hanabusa has the weirdest taste," Isuke said, shaking her head. "I swear I don't understand her at all 3"

Chuckling, Haruki grinned down at their lightly snoring classmate.

"I dunno. I like Banba," she said, picking up one of the many fallen rubber ducks on the ground.

"You like everyone," Isuke replied, rolling her eyes.

Straightening, Haruki turned and smiled at her.

"Well, maybe."

And, winking, she added, "But don't worry; I like you best of all, Isuke-sama."

Isuke scoffed, determinedly ignoring both the irrational urge to smile at her roommate's words and the irritating spark of heat that that stupid _wink_ of hers sent through Isuke's body.

"Just go to sleep," she said, throwing a rubber duck at Haruki's face.

The other girl effortlessly caught it before grinning again, though less jauntily this time.

"Guess we can't really talk much with Banba here, huh?" she said.

Isuke looked away, forcing a casual air as she shrugged.

"I guess not," she said.

They were both silent for a moment, until Haruki began, "Then, tomorrow—"

"Definitely tomorrow," Isuke agreed immediately, flushing faintly as she tried not to remember what Haruki had said to Shinya.

_If…if she said that, then…_

"Awesome," Haruki said, smiling again, and this time Isuke couldn't help but smile back just a little bit.

After about five seconds, Isuke realized that she had just been _staring _with a stupid smile on her face at the other girl the whole time, and hastily broke eye contact.

"W-well, then. Good night," she said, and turned back towards the bed.

"Good night, Isuke-sama," Haruki replied softly from behind her.

And, once the lights were off and she was in no danger of being seen, Isuke found herself smiling stupidly yet again as she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

* * *

"Not owning a Louis Vuitton bag or Chanel nail polish Isuke understands, but not having your own _swimsuit _is just ridiculous."

Haruki laughed awkwardly, looking very uncomfortable amidst the racks of brand-name merchandise of the department store.

"Well, I've never really needed one. I don't even really need one now, Isuke-sama. As long as you have one—"

"Isuke is not going to sit on the beach by herself," Isuke snapped, pushing Haruki into the summer-wear section of the store. "There are going to be hundreds of stupid, horny high school boys there, and I'm absolutely not going to deal with any more of them other than that one loser that I have to talk to."

Rubbing her eyes, Isuke let out an exhausted sigh.

Throughout the course of the past night, Isuke had very rapidly grown to have a newfound respect for Hanabusa. Or, more specifically, Hanabusa's sleeping skills.

_How anyone could sleep through that _snoring_ is just beyond Isuke. _

Shinya's snoring had steadily increased in volume throughout the night, until eventually Isuke had been tempted to smash the girl's nose in with her own hammer.

To make matters worse, Banba's continued presence that morning made it impossible for Isuke to talk to Haruki about…about anything, really.

The girl had been embarrassed and flustered to the point of near catatonia, and Haruki had tactfully suggested that they leave the hotel so that she could collect herself.

_I don't understand how that girl can function, _Isuke thought, remembering the way Banba had stammered out both apologies and her gratitude for their help.

"I-I'm also s-sorry that Shinya left th-the ducks everywhere," she had said for what was maybe her 20th new apology. "T-Thank you Inukai-san, Sagae-san, for e-everything."

_We didn't even really do anything, but whatever. As long as she's happy…or more importantly, as long as Hanabusa is happy, and gives us the funds we need 3_

"Uh…this one looks good. I think I'll just buy this swimsuit, Isuke-sama."

Snapping out of her thoughts, Isuke looked up in time to Haruki grab the cheapest looking sports swimsuit from a rack; she immediately snatched the ugly green bikini away from her.

"Isuke is paying today, so don't you dare go deciding based on the price tag," Isuke said, placing the hideous thing back onto the rack. "If you do, I'll be very, very angry 3"

While Haruki made some protest about not wasting money on her, Isuke ignored her and scanned the bikini section for something that was suitable for her roommate.

_Red would be the obvious choice, but it might also be too much, since her hair is so noticeable as it is…_

Glancing back at the other girl again, Isuke paused as her eyes dropped down to Haruki's nails.

_Oh…that's perfect 3_

About a minute later, Isuke turned back to her still-protesting roommate and handed her a baby pink bikini.

Haruki stared at the swimsuit with wide eyes, thankfully not paying any attention to the price tag, for once.

"Try it on," Isuke said, gesturing to the changing room. "If it doesn't fit, I'll find you another one."

Haruki looked past the bathing suit to stare uncertainly at her.

"Er, well…don't get me wrong: it's really pretty, Isuke-sama, but…I'm not really sure if it'll suit me," she said doubtfully.

Isuke tossed the bikini at the other girl, smirking when Haruki reached out automatically to catch it.

"Well, Isuke is sure that it will. Pink suits you, Haruki 3 Just try it out."

Though looking far from convinced, Haruki nodded and stepped into the changing room, swinging the door shut behind her.

Isuke toyed idly with the straps on her purse as she waited, wondering how far along Shiena was with her hacking.

_If Shiena manages to get what I need by tonight, and if Hanabusa transfers the funds that I asked for after I bring Banba to her today, then we'll be able to move onto the final stage by midnight. _

The changing room door cracked open, and Isuke casually turned back to look.

_With any luck, we can have the entire setup ready to go by tomorrow morning. And then we…then…I…um…_

Isuke's train of thought very slowly chugged to a stop.

And all her higher brain functions seemed to break down as she watched Haruki emerge from the changing room, wearing the swimsuit.

…_ah._

Isuke stared at Haruki in what she was sure was a look of pathetically bovine slack-jawed idiocy, her eyes roaming up and down her roommate's body.

And, as she felt her body temperature increasing at an alarming rate, Isuke came to an interesting realization that she had never really thought about before:

Isuke really, _really_ wanted Sagae Haruki.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Isuke also realized with some surprise that thus far, sex had actually never been a factor in her relationship with Haruki.

_Which is weird, _Isuke mused, as she continued to stare like a slavering moron, _since that was what all of Isuke's past relationships were more or less based on. Well, sex and money too, of course. _

But with Haruki, Isuke had always just…enjoyed her company.

If Isuke had been in a clearer state of mind, she would have cringed at how stupidly mawkish she sounded. But since most of her mind was occupied with admiring Haruki's body, Isuke could only realize that Haruki had supplied her with neither sex nor money, but…

…_but I still like this idiot so much it's driving me crazy. _

"Uh…Isuke-sama?"

Still, as her eyes roamed up and down her roommate's body now, Isuke was sure that the lack of sex was _definitely _not due to any lack of desire on her part.

"Er…is everything okay?"

_Her body type is Isuke's favorite. Toned and fit, but not grossly muscular, either. And I don't think I've ever seen abs so perfect before. I wonder how—_

"H-hey, Isuke-sama!"

Haruki's hand was suddenly pressed against Isuke's forehead, and the contact _finally_ snapped Isuke out of her trancelike state.

And the moment Isuke was out of her trancelike state was the moment that she realized just how horrifically_ stupid_ she had just been acting. And thinking.

_You've got to be kidding me. _

First that time two nights ago, and now this.

_Something is very, _very_ wrong with me…_

"Oh, jeez, I think you have a bit of a fever, Isuke-sama," Haruki was saying, frowning worriedly. "You're really hot."

_So are you, _replied a stupid, unbelievably corny voice in Isuke's head. _Which is why Isuke can't function normally right now. _

_Oh, shut up, _Isuke told the voice, with a hint of panic. _Since when does liking someone rob you of basic intelligence, anyway?_

To Isuke's renewed agitation, Haruki suddenly leaned forward, pressing her forehead against Isuke's.

Though the idiot probably only did that to better check Isuke's temperature, it of course only made Isuke's temperature skyrocket even higher.

Isuke swallowed thickly, failing miserably in her attempt to stop her eyes from drifting downward to Haruki's lips.

She was close, _so_ close, and it took every ounce of Isuke's apparently limited self-control not to repeat exactly what she had done two nights ago.

_I'm not going to kiss her in the middle of a department store_, Isuke thought dazedly to herself, finally managing to take a shaky step backwards. _That's tacky, and lame, and…_

"G-get dressed," Isuke said, her voice sounding breathless and unsteady even to herself. "I'm fine, and we're buying that one."

Turning on her heel, Isuke rapidly walked away before Haruki could reply.

_This is ridiculous, _she decided, her heels clacking loudly on the ground as she stormed through the store. _And this can't go on. _

_I have to talk to Haruki. If I can just straighten things out and figure out what exactly is going on with…with us, then…_

Isuke stopped her agitated pacing, suddenly at a loss.

_Then what?_

Flushing faintly at the possibilities, Isuke shook her head.

_Well, whatever. I can think about that later. For now, the important thing is that I talk to her so that I can stop acting like some…some confused, anxious, _lovestruck_ teenage girl._

And as Isuke continued to walk irritably about the store, it didn't seem to occur to her that maybe the reason why she was acting like some confused, anxious, lovestruck teenage girl was simply because she actually _was _one.

* * *

The sun was blazing overhead; the gulls cried, the waves crashed, and the sky was a brilliant cerulean.

All in all, it was a gorgeous summer day, and the beach was teeming with life.

Unfortunately, all of this beauty was more or less lost on both Haruki and Isuke.

As yet another tanned, muscular guy catcalled and hooted as Isuke walked by, Haruki crushed her can of soda and determinedly worked to suppress her irrationally rising desire to beat the crap out of every guy on the beach who was leering at her roommate.

As yet another slender, bikini-clad girl giggled with her friends and glanced admiringly at Haruki as she walked by, Isuke fingered the knuckle knife hidden in her bag and briefly contemplated gutting every bimbo on the beach who was gaping at her roommate.

_I guess it's understandable, considering how gorgeous she is, _Haruki thought, oblivious to the group of girls who were inching towards her from behind. _But jeez, I wish they wouldn't be so persistent. Can't they tell she's not interested?_

_Haruki's body may be perfect, and she may be cooler than every single guy on the beach, _Isuke thought, irritably waving off another loser that was trying to chat her up_, but can't these useless skanks see that she doesn't even notice them? Why do they insist on hanging around?_

"We're a bit early, Isuke-sama," Haruki said, sticking the sunshade right behind Isuke to best cut off the continued stares of the guys around them.

"We'll just relax until it's three, then," Isuke replied, lowering her sunglasses to glare at a passing gaggle of high-school girls.

To Haruki's dismay, the guys just relocated to have a clearer view of Isuke, and they muttered to each other as they nudged each other and snickered.

To Isuke's annoyance, the girls didn't even notice her glare, and continued to giggle and whisper inane things like "she's so cool!" and "let's go say hi later!" as they passed by.

…_it's going to be a long day, _both Haruki and Isuke thought.

_Why does she have to be so attractive?_

* * *

"Hey, you girls alone? Wanna come pl—"

"Haruki, I can't apply any oil with this stupid cast on. Do it for Isuke 3" Isuke said, handing Haruki a bottle of tanning oil and completely ignoring the guys that had come to talk to her.

"I have a cast on too, Isuke-sama," Haruki said with a laugh, taking the bottle and trying not to grin when the guys disappointedly left. "I probably won't be able to do a much better job."

Isuke shrugged, turning on her towel to lie on her stomach.

"Just use your left hand to do my back. I can get all the other areas," she said.

Haruki nodded, and was just about to uncap the bottle when she noticed what the label said.

"…hey, Isuke-sama. This stuff has no UV protection! It's just the opposite," she said, frowning at bottle. "You can damage your skin this way."

Isuke waved a hand carelessly.

"Who cares? Isuke wants a tan, and that oil helps."

Haruki instantly shook her head, tossing the bottle into the sand before rummaging through her own beach bag.

Isuke scowled when she saw the white bottle that Haruki produced from her own bag.

"I just said I wanted a tan. Sunscreen—"

"Prevents sunburn and all kinds of skin diseases," Haruki said firmly, unscrewing the bottle. "You don't need a tan, Isuke-sama, but you do need your health."

Isuke's brow remained furrowed, but instead of protesting further she only huffed and complained: "Why is the big sister in you is coming out around me now?"

Squeezing a dollop of sunscreen into her palm, Haruki chuckled.

"Well, that's only part of it. Sunscreen also prevents wrinkles and sagging, Isuke-sama. You have such nice skin; don't want it to get ruined, right?"

As Isuke grumbled a response, Haruki smiled and scooted closer to her friend.

Isuke's skin really was pretty, her back white and entirely unblemished.

Seeing the knot where Isuke's bikini was tied in the back, Haruki paused.

_Ah…I should probably…_

"…um…do you want me to untie your bikini, Isuke-sama?"

"…obviously 3 Isuke doesn't want tan lines."

Haruki nodded but didn't move, staring uncertainly down at the knot.

_What's the big deal? _she asked herself bemusedly. It_'s just untying a bikini. You've done this for friends and even family members before. _

Oddly, though, as soon as Isuke entered the picture, the task seemed kinda…

Clearing her throat, she gripped the string in between her fingers and hesitantly pulled.

"…w…why are you untying it so slowly? It's weird," Isuke said abruptly, craning her neck to scowl back at her.

Haruki flushed, hastily tugging the knot free and letting the string fall to the sides.

"S-sorry, Isuke-sama," she muttered, and lowered her hand to slather on the first layer of sunscreen.

Haruki could feel the other girl shiver at the contact, and she heard Isuke murmur something about the lotion being cold.

"Sorry," Haruki said again, automatically, as her hand slid down Isuke's back.

_Her skin's really…really soft, _Haruki mused, her hand gliding over Isuke's shoulders.

They were both silent as Haruki applied the sunscreen, diligently working her way down Isuke's back.

Squeezing some lotion directly onto Isuke's skin, Haruki let her hand slide firmly down her spine.

About halfway through the motion, Isuke suddenly shuddered, and Haruki paused.

"D-don't do that," Isuke snapped, turning back to glare at her again. Her face, Haruki noticed, was unexpectedly flushed with color.

Haruki stared, confused and inexplicably flushing red herself.

The way Isuke's spine had moved under her fingers just then, and the way her back had arched as she shivered—

"D-don't do what?" she asked, rapidly cutting off her own thoughts.

Isuke swallowed audibly, her brow wrinkled in a discomfited scowl as she stared at a point somewhere by Haruki's feet.

"Th-_that_…what you just did, obviously. My…my spine is…" Isuke trailed off, letting out a groan instead.

"Do I really have to spell it out for you?" she finally demanded, covering her eyes with slender fingers.

Haruki stared at the other girl blankly, still about ninety percent totally bewildered.

The remaining ten percent of her, though, in the very, very back of her mind…was extremely curious.

"…s-sorry, Isuke-sama," she apologized in advance.

And, placing her fingers gently at the small of Isuke's back, she repeated the same motion that she had done earlier, drawing a similar reaction from the other girl, as well as a muffled kind of gasp.

"H-_Haruki,_" Isuke choked out, face now bright red. "W-what do you think you're doing?"

Haruki bit her lip, falling back in the sand and gazing dazedly at her roommate.

_Why…why does getting that reaction make me feel so…_

It wasn't in Haruki's nature to do things that she was told not to, and normally, Haruki would've stopped immediately.

But there was something strange about the way Isuke had reacted, and was still reacting; something about the blush that the motion had elicited, the way she had shivered, the embarrassed stammering, and the soft gasp that made Haruki feel…feel weirdly like…

It took another good minute before comprehension dawned.

And when it finally did, Haruki went scarlet.

_Oh crap. I...I think I might be..._

Sitting under the hot August sun in the middle of the beach, Haruki realized with some measure of disbelief that she was actually getting turned on.

By her roommate.

Who was lying right there in front of her.

_Not good. Not good at all. _

Swallowing thickly, Haruki slowly began to recap the sunscreen.

"S-sorry Isuke-sama, but I'm going to be right back," she said, tearing her gaze away from Isuke's body, which for the first time Haruki now noticed was very temptingly presented in a bold red bikini.

"What? What are you talking about?" Isuke asked, still looking flushed and uncomfortable herself.

Haruki looked uncertainly down at her.

_Was…was Isuke also…_

Her strange reaction to Haruki's hand running down her back…was that because…?

Getting abruptly to her feet, Haruki forced a grin.

"Be right back, Isuke-sama! Just hang tight and tan for a bit, okay?"

"Haruki—"

Turning, Haruki bounded through the sand, making a beeline straight for the water.

Diving into the ocean wasn't exactly the same thing as a cold shower, but it was close enough.

_That was weird. That was very, very weird. And I'm an idiot. _

Haruki had always known that she was attracted to Isuke, but…but _arousal_ was another thing entirely.

Haruki could more or less deal with attraction.

But she hadn't the faintest clue as to how she was supposed to deal with arousal.

_Arousal is linked to…to sex, and sex is…_

Her mother had been sick long before she had the chance to give Haruki any talk about the birds and the bees.

In fact, Haruki's only real sex-ed consisted of what she had done with Ren.

Mood darkening somewhat at that realization, Haruki grimaced and shook her head.

What she had felt just now, and what she felt for Isuke in general were _leagues_ apart from whatever she had had to do with Ren.

Shuddering at the sudden iciness of the water, Haruki fell back into the swell of the next wave.

Isuke had been so…so cute, really, and her reaction had just…

Taking a deep breath, Haruki fully submerged herself.

_It's like what happened with the chocolate, except times ten, _she thought embarrassedly to herself. _Just being around her makes me feel really weird. _

Even disregarding her lack of knowledge about the subject, Haruki had never really been interested in that kind of thing before.

But as soon as Isuke was involved…

Haruki groaned, sending bubbles floating up through the water.

This was no good.

Haruki really didn't have any more of right to confess to Isuke now than she had when she had first thought about the subject in the hospital.

She still had all of her responsibilities to fulfill and Ren to handle; the fact that Isuke was helping her with all of this only added to Haruki's sureness that she wasn't anywhere even near-worthy of the other girl yet.

She _had _to wait, at least until she had no debts or obligations that would drag Isuke down with her.

Haruki finally broke the surface of the water, taking very deep, calming breaths.

She definitely had to wait before she made _any_ kind of move.

She had to, but…

Haruki smiled ruefully, sighing.

_But you're making it really hard for me, Isuke-sama…_

* * *

By the time Haruki came trotting back to her, Isuke had retied her bikini and calmed down as much as she possibly could.

This calm was immediately threatened when Isuke noticed that Haruki was smiling at her with that stupidly attractive grin of hers. And that Haruki was dripping wet. And that her hair was down, clinging to her body.

Isuke's defensive measure was to immediately put on her sunglasses and look away.

To her surprise (and slight relief, really, at the distraction), she saw school buses rolling up on the street beside the boardwalk, as well as students starting to scramble down from the boardwalk onto the beach.

"Looks like they're here a bit early," Haruki said, dropping down onto the towel beside Isuke. "Are you ready, Isuke-sama?"

Isuke shrugged, continuing to avoid eye contact as she replied, "There's nothing to be ready for. It's just flirting with some stupid loser. Shouldn't be hard at all 3"

Haruki was briefly quiet, and when Isuke chanced a look down at her, she saw her frowning distractedly.

"…uh…about what happened earlier, Isuke-sama. I…I know you told me not to apologize to you, b-but this time, I think I should—"

"You still don't have to apologize," Isuke interrupted without thinking.

When Haruki looked up at her in surprise, Isuke determinedly kept what she hoped was a cool façade.

"You just don't, okay?" Hurriedly moving on before the idiot could ask any questions, Isuke continued, "Th-that aside, what are you going to do while I'm with the loser?"

While Haruki had been gone, guys had been swooping down like stupid, desperate vultures, emboldened by the fact that she had been alone.

She could just see the same thing happening with Haruki and the dozens of high school girls that were already prowling around the beach. Only unlike Isuke, Haruki would be too nice to tell them to get lost.

_They'd be crawling all over her by the time I got back, _Isuke thought, scowling at the mental image.

"Hmm, I dunno. I was thinking of maybe trying out surfing," Haruki said with another grin. "I saw a stand renting out some boards while we were walking. My cast's waterproof, so as long as it's not too dangerous, I was gonna give it a shot."

After a moment's consideration, Isuke nodded her approval.

Surfing was good; it was a solitary sport that would keep Haruki in the water and away from these stupid prowling girls.

"All right. Isuke will be back as soon as possible 3" she said, reluctantly getting to her feet. In the distance, she could see a fat, awkwardly shambling teenager that she immediately recognized as Shiena's loser friend.

Haruki also got to her feet.

"I'll be keeping an eye on you, Isuke-sama, but make sure you give me a shout if you need me at all," she said, smiling.

Isuke smirked, shaking her head.

"You worry too much. It's just flirting with some random fat guy."

Shrugging, she added:

"How hard can it be?"

* * *

Very hard, as Isuke soon discovered.

"…and then I bought a _dakimakura_ of Fate-chan to go along with my Fate-chan bed-sheet and alarm clock. I was so happy when I found out that I could find…"

Isuke didn't understand half of what this obese creature was saying.

She didn't know what a _dakimakura_ was, she didn't know who the heck "Fate-chan" was, and she didn't know where this guy was managing to find alarm clocks and sheets with pictures of this mysterious "Fate-chan" on them.

All she knew was that her urge to stab both this guy and his bullies (for putting her in this position to begin with) was skyrocketing with every agonizingly slow second that passed.

"How…fascinating," Isuke said, her smile very close to breaking.

A few feet away, a group of dumb-looking punks who had to be this loser's bullies were watching them.

They had been stunned into silence when Isuke had first breezed past them and started talking to the loser instead.

Now, their surprise was slowly giving way to snickers as the fatty droned on and on and _on _about his collection of "Fate-chan" figurines.

_If I don't seem more interested, they'll see through me in no time, _Isuke thought sourly, adjusting her bikini strap. _But it's hard enough just listening to this weirdo without wanting to gut him. _

"Hey, Nee-san!"

The fat guy (Isuke realized that she had never asked for his name) started violently, turning terrified eyes to the thuggish boy who had called out to her.

The look of utter fear on Shiena's friend's face almost (key word being _almost_) made Isuke feel bad for him, and she turned with a look of disinterest towards the probable bully.

The delinquent was swaggering towards her, flanked by a few of his friends.

"Nee-san, why don't you leave this lardass here and come play with us instead?" he said, placing a large hand on Isuke's shoulder. "He doesn't know how to appreciate girls the way we do. Too busy jerking his dick to anime porn, y'know?"

Pushing his hand off of her, Isuke responded with a sweet smile.

"Isuke's going to have to decline 3 I'm having a lot of fun with…with this guy, so…"

The delinquent laughed raucously, slapping Shiena's friend hard on the back.

"Hear that, fatass? She said she's having fun. How's it feel to be a charity case, huh? How pathetic do you have to look in order for pretty girls to talk to you outta pure pity?" he said, snickering.

"Dude, all his rolls just jiggled when you hit 'im," one of the delinquent's friends said, snorting. "He looks like fucking jello. Do it again."

The delinquent slapped Shiena's friend again, sending all of the punks into hysterics.

Tears welled up in Shiena's friend's eyes, and Isuke frowned.

Even if the guy was a morbidly obese freak, this kind of behavior was just tasteless.

"Ah~ You're starting to piss me off 3 Isuke said to leave, so why don't you leave while I'm still being nice?" she said, plastering on another smile.

The first delinquent turned to her, grinning.

"Nee-san, are you maybe a gold-digger? You're thinking that with all the money this freak has to buy anime merchandise and shit, he must be loaded, right?"

Resting one arm on Shiena's friend's head, the delinquent laughed.

"Well, sorry to say this, Nee-san, but you're barkin' up the wrong tree! He's poor as fuck; he actually has a shitload of little cousins, too, and works his ass off at this dumpy little convenience store to help his loser drunkard of an uncle provide for them, y'know?"

Isuke narrowed her eyes, looking at Shiena's friend again.

"Guess they couldn't afford condoms," another delinquent said, and they broke out into laughter again.

Tapping her foot irritably against the beach chair, Isuke said, "There's nothing wrong with being poor."

There was absolutely nothingeven _remotely_ similar about Shiena's loser friend to Haruki. The two couldn't even be compared.

Shiena's friend was awkward, irritating, stupid, fat, spineless, and a total geek. He was everything that Isuke found repulsive in a guy, but…

Isuke scowled.

But his situation was just similar enough to Haruki's to remind her of the idiot, and now she couldn't just _let_ him be abused.

Besides, she had told Shiena and Haruki that she would help this loser, and while she couldn't have cared less about breaking her promise with Shiena, the look on Haruki's face would probably be all irritatingly disappointed and sad. And Isuke really didn't want to have to see that.

The delinquent raised a brow, smirking as he leaned down in front of Isuke.

"Maybe not. But having money's nice, y'know? Having money…lets me pay pretty little whores for their time," he said, his smirk widening as he leered.

"How about it, slut? Twenty thousand yen for a handjob."

After momentarily contemplating stabbing this guy in the face, Isuke instead gave him her sweetest, most angelic smile.

"Sorry, but even if I were the type to do that kind of thing, I'd charge more than ten thousand yen per centimeter 3"

It took the idiots a few seconds to get it, but when they did, the deliquent's friends burst out into uproarious laughter.

"Aww, d'you really have a two centimeter dick, Souji? Poor bastard," one laughed, shaking his head.

The lead delinquent's face became an angry, mottled red.

"You're pretty arrogant for a slut, aren't you?" he snarled, straightening. "Think it's time you learned a bit of respect, like this fatass over here."

Shiena's friend squeaked in alarm, and Isuke rolled her eyes.

"Oh no, so scary 3" she said, wondering if she would be able to get away with stabbing a few of them as long as they didn't die.

"Grab her arms," the delinquent told his friends. "Let's teach her a lesson."

Isuke watched warily as his friends looked uncertainly around them.

"Dude, we're on a crowded beach," one said worriedly.

"We'll be done before anyone has a chance to call the cops. And if anyone is stupid enough to try and get involved directly…"

The delinquent pulled a knife from his shorts, and Isuke observed that he was holding it the wrong way.

"…I'll gut them," he said.

_Let's see…one, two, three, four…ten in total. Hmm…maybe I got myself into a bigger mess that I calculated, _Isuke mused, her hand resting on her purse.

While she had basic training in hand to hand combat, she definitely wasn't a brawler, and also wasn't used to taking on more than one person at a time. Assassination wasn't the same thing as street fighting, and there were a lot of them surrounding her.

Getting to her feet, Isuke dodged the first guy that lunged to grab her arm, kneeing him in the stomach before pivoting away.

_Then again, these guys are total amateurs…as long as they don't land a hit on me, I should be fine._

"Wow…not bad for a pretty little girl," the first thug said, smirking. "But you can't dodge around forever."

Actually, Isuke probably _could _have dodged around forever, or at the very least could've dodged around until the stupid delinquents got tired out, if Shiena's friend hadn't chosen that very moment to try and grow a backbone.

"I-I'll help too, Isuke-san!" he bellowed, getting to his feet and charging at one of the delinquents.

He succeeded in smashing the wind out of the punk, but he also went crashing down.

And he landed on Isuke's foot.

_This idiot_—

Biting back a curse, Isuke winced as her foot was more or less crushed under his weight.

And the lead delinquent, taking advantage of the opportunity, swung his fist right at Isuke's face.

There was the sound of a fist hitting flesh, and then a pained cry.

But neither sound came from Isuke.

"It's about time you got here," Isuke said, dropping down onto the chair in relief. "Any later and Isuke would've been very pissed off 3"

In front of her, Haruki tightened her grip on the delinquent's fist, eliciting another shout of pain.

"Sorry, Isuke-sama," she said, grinning down at her. "I'll make it up to you later."

And, drawing her own fist back, Haruki slammed a punch straight into the punk's front teeth.

Isuke watched as Haruki, even with her broken arm, easily took down all ten of the delinquents within the next five minutes.

All it took was one punch or kick, and the tall thugs were floored, crying out in pain.

_Sometimes, that idiot is actually…really cool, _Isuke thought reluctantly, watching her roommate with a grudging kind of awe.

When the last delinquent dropped to the ground, clutching at his profusely bleeding nose, the beach erupted into cheers.

Isuke looked around in annoyance as people flocked around her roommate, gushing about how strong she was and how brave she had been.

_Useless bystanders, _she thought, frowning. _The cowards had just been standing around until now. _

But Isuke's annoyance quickly gave way to surprise when Haruki politely but firmly waved them off before making her way back to Isuke.

Isuke blinked as Haruki knelt in the sand in front of her, brow furrowed in worry.

"You're okay? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" she said, bringing a hand gently to Isuke's face. "If they touched you—"

"You got here before they could, idiot," Isuke interrupted, unable to stop herself from smiling, just a little bit, at the other girl. "I'm fine."

A relieved grin broke out on Haruki's face, and she ran her thumb gently across Isuke's cheek.

"Good," she said, looking up at her. "I'm glad."

Hanabusa, Isuke realized, actually did have a point.

Haruki's eyes really _were _ridiculously open with affection and warmth as she looked up at her, and Isuke couldn't help but soften whenever she saw them.

"…thanks," Isuke said with another small, sincere smile.

Haruki was opening her mouth to reply when they both heard a weak, pathetic squeak from below them.

Shiena's friend slowly sat up, eyes wide as he bowed his head.

"Th-thank you both so much! With the verbal beatdown that you gave, Isuke-san, and the physical beatdown that your friend gave, those guys will never bother me again!" he exclaimed, eyes bright with gratitude.

Haruki chuckled, and to Isuke's disappointment she dropped her hand back down again.

_Wait, why am I disappointed when…_

Sighing, Isuke didn't even bother finishing that thought.

Because she knew exactly why:

Isuke was falling in love with her roommate, and she really couldn't even attempt to deny it anymore.

* * *

The sun was just starting to set by the time Haruki made it back to the shore after her last wave.

"Haruki-san, you're _so _good at surfing."

"Seriously, I can't _believe _you just started today!"

"Haruki-san—"

Clearing her throat, Haruki smiled politely at the group of girls that always seemed to materialize out of nowhere every time she walked anywhere.

"Sorry, but I have to get back to my friend," she said, and with one quick bow, turned and jogged back to where Isuke was waiting.

"Leaving your adoring fans behind?" Isuke said as she approached, brow wrinkled in obvious dislike.

Haruki grinned, and, falling comfortably down onto the sand in front of her roommate, lay her head down in Isuke's lap.

Isuke colored faintly, and her hand dropped down onto Haruki's head in a very halfhearted attempt to push her off.

After about a second, she gave up.

"Idiot," she said, though her tone was unusually soft.

Haruki chuckled, smiling up at the other girl.

"I'm beginning to think that's some kind of term of endearment coming from you," she said, reaching up to tug teasingly at her roommate's curls.

Isuke was momentarily silent, staring down at her.

And then, with a short laugh, she replied, "Maybe it is."

Frowning slightly, she added, "Only for you, though."

"…good," Haruki said. "That means I'm special to Isuke-sama, right?"

She had meant it jokingly, and so was surprised when Isuke gazed down at her with uncharacteristically serious eyes.

"…if I said yes," Isuke began, very slowly, "would you be happy?"

Haruki blinked, her hand slowly falling back down into the sand beside her.

_What…is she asking?_

Haruki might have been oblivious about a lot of things, but even she knew that there was something deeper to this question, something unspoken that Isuke was hiding behind the relatively simple words.

_Is she…?_

"N-never mind," Isuke said suddenly, averting her gaze. "Forget I said anything. Let's—"

"Isuke."

Reaching up, Haruki placed a hand gently on the other girl's cheek.

And, smiling, she said, "I'd say that it'd make me the happiest girl in the whole world, but you know…just being with you already does that."

Isuke laughed softly, rolling her eyes and muttering about "your dumb corny lines," and Haruki grinned.

"Do you want me to stop?" she asked.

"…I never said that," Isuke replied, coloring faintly.

Haruki's grin widened.

"I mean every single one of them, you know."

Isuke looked down at her again.

"...I know," she replied.

Stroking the other girl's cheek, Haruki slowly pushed herself up with her elbows.

Isuke leaned down.

And then Isuke's phone rang.

If Haruki had been the type to curse or yell or break things, she probably would've done all three.

But as she wasn't, she had to settle with a disbelieving and immensely disappointed sigh, shifting off of Isuke's lap as her roommate turned to get the stupid ringing thing.

_How many times does that make it? _Haruki wondered, mentally counting all the times they'd been interrupted while doing…something. _This is just ridiculous. _

"…Mama?" Isuke said, sounding slightly irritated as she picked up the phone. "Is this important?"

Haruki chuckled quietly as she waited for her pulse to slow down.

_That…that was about to be…_

Isuke paused as she listened, a faint frown wrinkling her forehead.

"Missing? Who, Ryo? What is he…ugh, how useless 3"

Isuke sighed. "Yes, we'll head back right away…mm-hmm…what? No, she's right here with me, why?"

Suddenly going an even deeper shade of red than she had been before, Isuke glared down at her phone.

"Don't be stupid, Mama….stop laughing! I'm hanging up on you 3"

Swiping irritably at her phone screen, Isuke chucked the thing back into her bag.

Haruki snickered, sitting up and looking at her inquisitively.

"Bad news?"

Isuke rolled her eyes.

"Stupid news. That dumb spy that Mama hired for us is nowhere to be found. Mama thinks he's probably just passed out in the corner of a bar somewhere; he's that kind of man, apparently."

Getting to her feet, she frowned.

"Mama only hired him because he's fallen on hard times lately, but now Isuke is wishing he hadn't. Mama said not to worry, but to not do any more planning and to get going back to the hotel just in case."

Haruki nodded, also getting up.

"All right. Um…Isuke-sama, about our talk—"

"Tonight, after we bring Banba to Hanabusa," Isuke interrupted, suddenly seeming to find the sand remarkably interesting. "Sometime time tonight for sure."

Haruki chuckled.

"Do you promise? We'll have our talk no matter what?" she said, extending her pinky.

Isuke rolled her eyes but nodded and interlocked her pinky with Haruki's.

"I promise. No matter what."

* * *

"Huh. That's weird."

Isuke looked up from her magazine to see Haruki frowning quizzically down at her phone.

"What is?"

"No one at home is answering the phone," Haruki said. "Usually there's at least one of them available to pick it up."

Isuke could hear the note of concern in Haruki's voice, and she tossed her magazine to the side as she replied, "We can stop by your house after we visit Hanabusa to check on them. I know you'll probably worry unnecessarily if we don't."

Haruki grinned appreciatively, nodding.

"That'd be great, Isuke-sama. Thanks."

Isuke sighed, casting an annoyed glance at the closed bathroom door.

"But we'll never get anywhere if Banba doesn't finish her stupidly long bath by the end of this century," she said, getting to her feet. "I told Hanabusa that we'd be there by eight-thirty."

A sudden ringing came from Haruki's pocket, and her roommate hastily flipped open her phone as she turned to the window.

"Hello, Fuyu…oh, sorry, I thought you were my…ah, no, sorry. What's up, Nanjo-san?"

Waving a hand apologetically at Isuke, Haruki jogged out of the room to take the call.

The door slammed shut behind her.

A few minutes later, Isuke's phone also went off.

Frowning down at the unidentified number, Isuke got to her feet and swiped the screen.

"Hello?"

"H-hello, Inukai-san."

Isuke stopped at the vaguely familiar voice, searching her memory for where she'd heard it before.

_Wait...this is—_

"P-please, you can't let my sister know that I'm on the phone with you!"

Isuke was silent, staring confusedly down at her phone.

_Why the heck is Fuyuka calling me? And what does she mean, I can't—_

"P-_please, _Inukai-san, don't let my sister know. I-if you do…if you do, she's going to die. We'll all die."

Isuke froze, going completely rigid.

Going white, she stared incredulously at the screen.

…_what is she…_

"Please, I beg you, come outside to the parking lot of the hotel you're staying in. Please, please, Inukai-san, you have to do this without telling my sister or calling the police or talking to anyone else. Please, I beg of you, p-please—"

Fuyuka's voice broke, and Isuke unconsciously tightened her grip on her phone.

Every instinct screamed at her not to listen, to just ignore her and hang up.

_Something is wrong, completely wrong. _

Isuke had learned to always trust her instincts, but—

_But if Haruki's really in danger, then I…_

Gritting her teeth, Isuke brought a hand back to the knives hidden under her skirt.

"Please, Inukai-san, you have to come down now, and you really can't say a word to my sister; don't call her, or talk to her, or else—"

The line went dead.

Trembling, Isuke lowered her phone and got immediately to her feet.

_Don't go. You can't go. Something's wrong. _

But what if Isuke didn't go, and something happened to Haruki?

Haruki had left the room only moments beforehand. That couldn't be a coincidence.

Running out into the hallway, Isuke looked left and then right.

She wasn't there.

_I can't check on her, and Fuyuka's saying that if I try to contact her, she'll die. What kind of…_

Raking a hand through her hair, Isuke ground her teeth in frustration and rising panic.

She shouldn't go. She really, really shouldn't go.

Biting back a curse, Isuke turned and made her way to the elevator.

And as the elevator went down, Isuke reached back again to touch the knuckle knives, and then the derringer.

Fuyuka was standing in the middle of the parking lot, alone, when Isuke made it outside.

_No…not alone. _

Isuke could see the shadows of people hiding behind cars, crouching by the fence, and hidden behind crates.

A soft footfall sounded behind her.

Whirling around, Isuke tore the derringer from her waist and pointed it right in the eye of a tall, heavily muscled man.

The man looked startled, and then amused.

"Well, well…and here I thought you were just another pretty face," he said, smirking. "I guess this is the skill of Inukai Eisuke's successor, hmm?"

Isuke could hear rustling and numerous footsteps from behind her, and could see the people she had glimpsed before emerging from the shadows.

"It seems you noticed my boys, too. Not bad at all, Inukai Isuke. In a fair fight, you might've stood a chance."

The man grinned.

"But we never play fair in our world, do we?"

He snapped, and out of the corner of her eye Isuke could see two men dragging Fuyuka forward.

"I'm sorry, Inukai-san. I'm so sorry." Fuyuka was gasping, choking for breath as she stammered out desperate apologies.

"…what's going on here?" Isuke asked, not moving the derringer from the man's face.

She kept her voice cool and impassive.

There was no room to panic right now.

If she wasted energy on doing anything other than figuring out what to do next, she could easily die.

_Their tattoos…these guys are part of the Yakuza. _

"My name is Morita Kensuke. And my employer's name…is Sanada Ren."

Isuke said nothing.

Mama not being able to contact Ryo, and Haruki not being able to get in contact with her siblings; rapidly connecting the dots, Isuke felt the color draining from her face.

_We should've been more on guard. We should've…_

But should have's were worthless now, and Isuke could only focus on what she had to do in the present.

"Now, here's the deal, Isuke-chan…I've underestimated you, so I've screwed up big time," Kensuke began, and pointed to the derringer Isuke still had aimed at his face.

"At this point, you can probably blow my brains out. True, my boys would gun you down right after you did, but I'm a selfish bastard, and I want to get out of this situation alive, y'know?" Kensuke continued, smirking.

"However, we still have our trump card. Multiple, in fact."

The men dragged Fuyuka into Isuke's line of sight; the girl was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably.

"What did you do to her?" Isuke asked, working to keep her voice level.

Kensuke laughed.

"Nothing! We just threatened her a bit; she did this to herself. I think she feels guilty, you see, since we used her to get you down here, and she knows that we're going to use her in order to get you for good.

"You see, Isuke-chan, I need you to drop your weapons. If you don't, I'll have to have my men kill Fuyuka-chan over here.

"Oh, and did I mention that we also have Aki and all the other little brats as well? They're still lined up at home, but with guns pressed to their skulls all the same," Kensuke said, smiling widely.

Isuke looked past him, mind racing as she processed this information.

She had passed several definitely empty cars as she had made her way through the lot, and she hadn't gone very far before she had heard this thug approaching her from behind.

If she shot Kensuke now and then used his body as a shield (Isuke was sure that the man would have a bulletproof vest on, in this line of work), she could make it back to take cover behind the car right behind him.

And from there, she could run from car to car in order to make it back to the hotel.

There was definite danger in this plan, but Isuke was sure she could pull it off with maybe a gunshot wound to her leg or arm at worst.

If Isuke followed this plan, she'd get away.

_And Fuyuka, Aki, and all of Haruki's siblings would die. _

Isuke tightened her grip on the gun.

Why should she care?

Isuke hadn't come this far in life by stopping to cry over every single stupid, innocent soul that got caught up in their world.

Her finger twitched, and she saw the faintest spark of fear in Kensuke's eyes.

_He knows that I can kill him and get away, _Isuke thought. _He knows it, and I know it. _

If she went along with what he wanted, she was sure that she'd end up dead.

He was working for Ren, and if she had discovered what Isuke had been doing, there wasn't even the slightest doubt as to what she wanted to do to her.

But if Isuke went along with her own plan, she'd live.

_It's simple. _

In one plan, life, and in the other, death.

It was simple, so simple.

And yet every time Isuke made up her mind to pull the trigger, her thoughts automatically went to Haruki.

Haruki, who had given up everything she had for this family.

With one shot, Isuke would be destroying it all.

"…you…you'd kill them anyway, even if I surrendered," she said, trying to reason with herself as much as state the fact aloud.

"No, actually, I really wouldn't," Kensuke replied. "See, Sanada-sama is planning on using these brats as leverage against your girlfriend, so that she doesn't come running to save you."

Isuke's knuckles went white as she desperately clutched at the gun.

_Just shoot it. Shoot it, and…_

"So I can't kill them. And if everything goes as Sanada-sama plans, the only one dying here will be you, Isuke-chan."

Smiling again, Kensuke chuckled.

"Of course, on the opposite end, if everything goes the way you're planning right now in that smart little brain of yours, the only one living here will be you. Because if you get away, then Sanada-sama has no need for leverage anymore. And she'll want to take all her anger out on someone. If not you, it'll be these cute kids."

Isuke's hand trembled.

He was right.

She could choose now whether to live or die.

And she could choose now whether Haruki's family would live or die.

_It's simple, _she repeated to herself.

And, turning to Haruki's sister, she said:

"Sorry, Fuyuka."

Kensuke's eyes widened and Fuyuka let out a cry as Isuke brought her finger to the trigger.

..._I'm such an idiot. _

And she dropped the derringer onto the ground.

Kensuke stared, looking just as stunned as Isuke felt.

_I'm really such an idiot, _she repeated numbly.

She felt a blow to the back of her head, and she staggered forwards as her arms were roughly twisted behind her back.

"You…you really surrendered," Kensuke said, letting out a little laugh of disbelief. "I don't believe this. Aren't you supposed to be a cold-blooded assassin, Isuke-chan?"

Isuke couldn't reply, wincing as she felt handcuffs dig into her wrists.

"Inukai-san!"

Fuyuka was crying again, to Isuke's vague irritation.

"Inukai-san, w-why would you…"

Isuke shrugged, and somehow managed to force her usual smile to her face.

"Ah, well, who knows…" she began.

With a soft laugh, Isuke shook her head.

"I think if I had to give an answer…I'd say that your stupid sister's idiocy is beginning to rub off on me 3"

Someone grabbed her violently from behind, wrapping a blindfold tightly over her eyes.

And, feeling that same person wrap his arm around her neck in a sleeper hold, she sunk into unconsciousness.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about all these cliffhangers. I'll try to have the next chapter up by the end of the weekend.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Chapter 11**

* * *

**REALLY LONG A/N; IF YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE READING THE WHOLE THING, PLEASE JUST READ THE BOLDED PARTs**

I made a few small changes to the last chapter, partially because Caelion's (thanks, Caelion!) review made me want to make a few adjustments, and partially because I received a message from someone who politely requested that I change a line because it was apparently rather similar to a line from another AnR fanfic. I sincerely apologize if the lines really were alike; it was entirely unintentional, as I actually still haven't had time to read any AnR fics other than the one I recommended a few chapters back (I barely have enough time to write because of work hahaha…urg work) but I thank you for bringing it to my attention, and I have changed the line in question :)

I think I answered most of the questions that were asked last chapter through PMs, but for the anon that wrote the super kind review for chapter 9, since I can't respond via PM, I'll be replying to your question here: I'm just going with the canon ages for Isuke and Haruki in this fic, which I believe are 19 and 18, respectively :) (side-note: apparently Banba is 13 and Hanabusa is 14. My mind does not comprehend the science behind anime aging. I'm surprised Hitsugi's 14 and not actually 65 or something).

Okay, with all of that settled, let's move on to the notes for this chapter.

First things first: because of the **violence **and** language **of this chapter, I am temporarily bumping the rating up to M. Again, **this chapter is rated M for violence and language. **Please continue at your own discretion, particularly if you are squeamish about blood and such.

So. The chapter that you are about to read is actually a rewritten version. After reading the reviews for the past two chapters, and thinking it over, I temporarily shelved the first draft and replaced it with this one. I say temporarily because ultimately the ones who will be deciding which version of this chapter they want permanently will be you, dear readers. The old version is significantly different; it's darker, but also, I think, more realistic. **After finishing this chapter, please let me know whether you like this chapter as it is or would like to see the alternate version.** Depending on the response, I will either move on to chapter 12 or post the alternate version of chapter 11.

This chapter may be...intense, without much of the usual fluff to balance it out, but I promise to make up for it in the future.

As always, thank you very much to all you awesome reviewers and readers :) Here's chapter 11.

* * *

"H-Haruki-chan! There you are!"

At the sound of her voice, Haruki turned to see her elderly neighbor leaning on her cane by the hotel entrance.

Trotting over to her, Haruki waved a hand and grinned.

"Nanjo-san! I can't believe you really came all the way here just to drop off some gyoza," she said, chuckling as she offered the old woman her arm for support.

Nanjo offered a tremulous smile, taking her arm in a tight grip.

"W-well, I stopped by at your house with the food, Haruki-chan, and Fuyuka-chan told me that you were here with some lovely young friend of yours, I had to come here in person to see for myself," she said, with a thin, almost shrill laugh.

Haruki looked down at the woman in surprise and some concern.

Her neighbor was the grandmotherly type, always bringing over snacks and food; doing something like this wasn't unusual by any means.

But now that Haruki could see her face-to-face, the old woman seemed strangely and uncharacteristically nervous.

"Everything okay, Nanjo-san?" she said, peering down at the anxious woman.

Nanjo nodded rapidly, smiling again as she replied, "Oh, just a bit tired, my dear. Now, if you could follow me back to my car, we can pick up the containers and bring them up. The reason I called you down here is because I can't do it alone."

"Right," Haruki said. "Lead the way, then, Nanjo-san."

Her neighbor began hobbling out the door, and Haruki carefully helped her along.

_I wonder if Isuke likes gyoza, _she thought, smiling as she walked. _I should get her to try some when we get back. She never eats enough. _

"Sorry for making you walk all this way, Haruki-chan," Nanjo said. "I had trouble finding parking."

"No problem," Haruki replied genially, looking around the dark and small parking lot for Nanjo's car.

"Ah, by the way, Nanjo-san, I wanted to thank you for calling me when you did," Haruki added, looking down at her neighbor. "Even if it hadn't been to bring me your awesome food, I was really relieved to hear that you were just with Fuyuka and the others. They hadn't been picking up, and I was getting a bit worried until you called."

Nanjo abruptly stopped walking.

Haruki stopped beside her, peering inquisitively at the old woman's strangely blank expression.

"Nanjo-san? What's—"

"R-run, Haruki-chan," Nanjo whispered.

Her fingers dug into Haruki's arm, and she looked up at her with wide, terrified eyes.

"You have to run now, Haruki-chan, and get back to that girl before they—"

A tall, dark figure abruptly swung a leg out from behind them, kicking Nanjo's cane and sending the old woman staggering forwards.

Haruki moved instinctively, reaching out just in time to catch her neighbor before she hit the ground.

_W-what the—_

"Wow, nice reflexes, Haruki-san. You really are just as cool as they say."

The figure stepped out in the light of the streetlamp, grinning down at her.

He was clean-shaven and dressed nicely in a crisp-black suit, but Haruki knew with one look that there was something very, very dangerous about this guy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Haruki said, easing her trembling neighbor upright. "If I hadn't caught her—"

"She would've broken her hip or thrown out her back, yeah. But she would've deserved it, the way she was chickening out at the last minute," the man interrupted.

Narrowing her eyes, Haruki was about to ask just what the hell he was babbling about when Nanjo suddenly started to cry in her arms.

"I'm sorry, Haruki-chan…I'm so sorry, but they threatened to kill me if I didn't listen, and I have four grandchildren that need me. I had to do it, Haruki-chan. I'm so, so sorry," she said, eyes downcast and ashamed.

Even as Haruki's mind raced to process what she was saying, Haruki gently handed Nanjo her cane and helped her stand again.

"What are you talking about, Nanjo-san?" she asked, looking intently up at her. "You had to do what? And who threatened to kill you?"

"My boss did, of course," the man answered for Nanjo, laughing. "And until you decided to be a little cheater and run off with that pink-haired slut, my boss was your boss, too."

…_my…boss…?_

And, even in the heat of the summer night, Haruki suddenly felt numb with cold.

"…you…you work for Ren?"

The man chuckled, nodding.

"Sure do. And so did this little old lady, for just a little bit, by getting you out here."

Haruki automatically looked down at Nanjo, who wouldn't meet her gaze.

_Nanjo…tricked me into coming out here? For…for Ren?_

Overwhelmed by confusion and disbelief, Haruki turned back to the man.

And she saw the barrel of a gun as his hand went down to his belt.

She reacted instantly, whipping her leg out and kicking the man in the gut before he could draw the weapon.

The man dropped down to one knee, winded, and Haruki twisted his arm back behind his back.

Kicking him down to the ground, she pressed her knee down against his back and demanded, "What the hell is going on here? What is Ren trying to do?"

The man coughed, still sneering as he glared up at her.

"You're pretty damn strong for a girl, huh? Unfortunately, no matter how strong you are, there's no helping you here," he said, snickering. "Not when we've got your precious family at gunpoint."

He suddenly shrieked in pain, and Haruki dully realized that she had unconsciously tightened her grip on his wrist until a bone had cracked.

_The reason why I couldn't get into contact with them…Ren, she must have…_

"…what does she want from me?" she asked, wondering how her voice managed to remain steady as fear welled up inside her.

_Aki, Fuyuka, and all the others…and Mom, she…_

"She just wants to make sure you stay put instead of running off to save that slut of yours," the man rasped, his face twisting in pain. "'Course, now that Nanjo got you out here, it'd be too late anyway."

For one, terrifying moment, everything in the world seemed to freeze.

Nanjo's words came flooding back to her; "get back to that girl," she had said.

By leaving the hotel room, even for a few minutes, she had separated from Isuke.

_Isuke…Isuke's in danger. _

"Looking pretty pale there, Haruki-san," the man taunted, mouth stretched in another grin. "And I haven't even told you what the others have planned for Inukai Isuke yet. If I did—"

He cried out again, cursing as Haruki wrenched his other arm back.

"Where is she? And what the hell do you mean, 'what the others have planned' for her? If you don't explain everything right now, I swear I'm going to break both of your arms," Haruki said, panic and dread funneling into anger.

_I've only been out here for five minutes at most. There's no way she can be—_

"She's probably out in the hotel parking lot, but I'm telling you it's no use. You take one step in the wrong direction, and your family will have their brains blown out."

Smashing the man's head down into the pavement, Haruki grabbed the gun from his belt and shoved it against his temple.

"What the hell are you saying?" she snarled, hands shaking. "How would she know what I'm doing?"

"Because I'm watching you, my dear."

Haruki froze at the sound of that voice.

Sanada Ren emerged from Nanjo's car, smiling and flanked by two bodyguards.

"I had been planning on greeting you properly when you reached the car, but I'm afraid Nanjo-san seemed to have a little crisis of conscience," she said, her voice smooth and her expression placid as she approached. "So why don't we have our conversation in your little hotel room instead? I have something that I need to show you, and that I think you'll be very, very interested in seeing."

Haruki rose unsteadily to her feet, vision darkening as her fingers twitched towards the trigger of the gun.

"Ren, I swear to you, if you've done anything to Isuke—"

"If I've done anything to Isuke?" Ren interrupted, with a short laugh. "Not worried about your family, then? Is Isuke the new number one in your life? How fickle you are, Haruki."

Raising a hand, she wagged a long finger.

"And if I were you, I'd put that gun down, my dear. I'm in a very bad mood right now, and your rudeness is only exacerbating it. If you continue to wave that thing around, I might just get angry enough to, let's say…tell my men to shoot a hole through dear little Aki's head."

Haruki trembled, a hot, blind rage shooting through her veins at those words.

Violently suppressing her anger, Haruki breathed out a short, desperate curse.

The gun fell from her limp fingers.

"…what the hell do you want, Ren?" she said, her voice rough with fear and anger.

_Isuke…if Isuke gets hurt, it'll be because she was involved with me. It would be because she helped me. If she gets hurt—_

Haruki dug her nails into her palms, clenching until the skin tore and bled.

_No. _

Isuke couldn't get hurt. She wouldn't get hurt.

_I can't let that happen. _

"I told you, didn't it? I want to show you something. Let's be civilized and conduct our business indoors, hmm? And do remember: if you even try to run off in some misguided and hopeless attempt to rescue that whore of yours, you'll be killing each and every member of your family."

Haruki felt hollow as she followed Ren back up to the hotel room, her mind swamped with emotion and overrun with thoughts.

By the time she was in the room, she felt sick, sick and half-crazy with dread.

_What the hell should I do? What the hell can I do? _she thought feverishly, bringing a clammy hand to her forehead.

In front of her, Ren's bodyguards produced two computer monitors from their briefcases, setting them down on the table.

Haruki watched, motionless, as both screens flickered to life.

On one, all of her siblings lay bound on the floor of her home, surrounded by armed men.

On the other, Isuke lay unconscious and blindfolded, chained down to a table by her wrists and ankles.

Haruki felt her stomach drop, twisting painfully at both sights.

"…what the screens don't show is your mother at the hospital, though you can rest assured that I have men stationed there, as well as…oh, here she is now."

"S-Sis!"

Haruki stared, incredulous, as Fuyuka stumbled into the room followed by three more men.

"F-Fuyuka? Why…"

Fuyuka collapsed beside her, shaking violently as she clutched at her shirt.

"I'm sorry, Sis, I'm so sorry! Inukai-san, she—if it hadn't been for us, then she wouldn't have…"

Fuyuka's voice broke as she dissolved into tears.

And Haruki tried in vain to keep her own voice steady as she said: "What do you mean, Fuyuka? She wouldn't have what?"

Her sister looked up at her with wide, watery eyes.

"Inukai-san gave herself up because of us! Because Aki and me and all the others were taken hostage, sh-she gave herself up to these men, and they took her away t-to…they told me that they're going to—"

"Hush, now, Fuyuka-chan, or you'll ruin the surprise," Ren interrupted, her smile broad and mocking. "You ought to let your older sister see it with her own two eyes."

Haruki fell heavily down to one knee beside her sister, shakily pulling her handkerchief from her pocket and handing it to the younger girl.

"It's all right," she said, even as everything inside of her burst in a tumult of disbelief, fear, and rage. "It's okay. Everything will be okay. Just leave it to your sister, all right?"

_They used my siblings…they used my family to get Isuke, _Haruki thought numbly, wrapping an arm around her sister as Fuyuka broke down.

_Isuke actually…she actually gave herself up in exchange for…_

"Yes, I'm told it was all very heroic and noble, though our suddenly altruistic Isuke apparently looked just as shocked by her own actions as my men were," Ren said, seating herself on the end of the couch. "Unfortunately for dear Isuke-chan, the first and only good deed of her life will also be her last."

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Haruki had known what Ren had been planning from the moment that she discovered that Isuke had been captured.

But hearing it put into words was…different.

Haruki got to her feet.

_Ren is going to kill her. _

If Haruki didn't do something, Ren was going to kill Isuke.

Isuke dead—it was impossible.

There was a gaping, empty void whenever Haruki even thought of the _idea _that Isuke might—that she would actually…

_No. Impossible._

"Don't touch her, Ren," she said, somehow managing to speak clearly despite the way her throat painfully constricted.

Ren arched a brow.

"Do you really believe that you are in the position to be making commands, my dear?" she said, smile widening.

"This isn't a command. It isn't a threat, either, or anything like that," Haruki replied, anger overwhelming all else. "It's just a promise: if you even try to take her life, I'm going to take yours."

Her fingers twitched, and in the back of her mind the familiar motions of handling a garrote were grotesquely clear.

"…I swear it," she said quietly.

Ren's smile twisted, and her countenance darkened with hatred.

"Didn't you say you never wanted to kill again, Haruki? I see that Inukai Isuke really has wrought several changes in you," she said, letting out a sharp, biting laugh. "Didn't I warn you that she would corrupt you?"

"She didn't do anything," Haruki replied, eyes narrowing. "This is—"

"You think that way because she's brainwashed you," Ren interrupted, composed once again. "I've seen this happen before, my dear. I've seen the way she bewitches people like you. And I think it's high time…that she's punished for such behavior, don't you?"

"Ren—"

"Have you ever heard of _yubitsume__**, **_Haruki? It's an interesting ritual that the yakuza has when punishing members who have committed grave offences. It involves using a knife to methodically cut off your own fingers, starting from the top of your left pinky. The more serious the offence…the more fingers you have to cut off.

"It's all very interesting, but Isuke-chan is unfortunately not a member of the yakuza, so the punishment wouldn't be very fitting, would it? So as I tried to think of a similar but more appropriate form of punishment, I remembered that your dear slut is so very fond of her lovely, perfectly manicured fingernails."

On the second screen, a man walked into view, holding a strange metal device equipped with a wedge and a lever.

"It's a modern version of the same contraptions the Europeans used in their medieval torture dungeons," Ren said, smiling. "You slip the victim's nail under the wedge, and, hammering down on the lever, watch as the nail is slowly ripped from the nail bed and torn off."

The world spun, and a sudden, powerful wave of nausea overcame Haruki as her knees gave out from under her.

"It's an incredibly painful procedure, and is often still used as a form of torture today. And we will get to see it firsthand, once Isuke wakes up. Won't that be fascinating?"

"Ren, you can't do this."

Haruki brought a trembling hand to her temples, blocking out the terror and revulsion that wrenched at her gut.

She had to stay calm. She couldn't panic, or Isuke would…

On the screen, the man placed the device by Isuke's hand.

Haruki forced her eyes away.

"What is it that you want? You know I'll do anything for you to stop this," she said, doing everything to keep her voice steady. "Ren, please, you can't—"

"All I want from you is for you to stay still and watch, Haruki," Ren said coolly. "And all I want from tonight is for Inukai Isuke to suffer and then die. She needs to be punished for what she's done.

"Scheming against me, trying to take you from me…these things compounded with her past crimes against me…she needs to be punished," Ren repeated.

Haruki violently forced down her panic, focusing instead on the five other men in the room with them.

_I need something, anything, as a distraction. Even for just two seconds, I need…_

Her eyes fell on the bathroom door.

_Banba. _

Banba, Haruki realized, had been in the bathroom even as she had been leaving the hotel room a few minutes ago.

_She couldn't have left in those couple of minutes, _she thought agitatedly, her knuckles going white. _She has to still be in there. _

But if she was, then why hadn't she done anything until now?

Biting back a curse, Haruki screwed her eyes shut.

No, she couldn't rely on someone who might not even be there. She had to figure something out on her own.

She had to, or else…

"I can practically see the gears turning in your little head, my dear, and I advise that you stop whatever plan you're scheming right now," Ren said, and pulled a small pager from her pocket.

"All it would take to end the lives of both your siblings and Inukai Isuke pressing this little button on this pager."

Outside the window, the sun finally sunk down below the horizon.

And the bathroom door smashed open.

"About damn time! Just what I was waiting to hear, bitch!"

Just as Ren whirled around, a massive hammer swung down and utterly crushed her hand.

There was a split second of silence as time seemed to freeze.

But then Ren shrieked in rage and pain, Shinya swung her hammer at the bodyguard that drew his gun, and, without pausing to think, Haruki jumped to her feet, snapping out her leg and driving her knee into the second bodyguard's gut.

Taking his gun, she shot the third and fourth guards, pausing when she saw the fifth get taken down by a cackling Shinya's hammer swing.

Without stopping, Haruki dropped down beside Ren, shoving the barrel of the gun to her temple. The pager lay crushed to pieces in the bloodied and pulverized remains of Ren's hand.

"Call everything off, Ren, or you'll die right here," she said, pinning down Ren's other arm with her knee. "Call your men off my family, and bring Isuke back here."

Ren let out a harsh, rasping laugh, face twisted in pain and fury as she writhed on the ground.

"Go ahead and shoot! Shoot, and see what happens to your precious family and that pretty little slut. Do you really think my men will let any of them go if you kill me?"

Her lips curling into a sneer, Ren choked out another laugh.

"Are you going to try to swoop in the hero, now? Won't that be a lovely sight? Let me give you a promise of my own, Haruki: by the time you manage to find Inukai Isuke, my men will have violated and tortured her until she's unrecognizable to you, if she isn't dead already."

Drawing back her hand, Haruki smashed the butt of the pistol into Ren's face, knocking the woman out.

She trembled violently as she shoved the Ren's limp body down onto the ground, feeling a frightening, burning, unfamiliar desire to kill. To murder the woman in front of her, wringing her neck until no life remained.

_But I can't. I can't. She's right; I can't touch her, not yet. _

"Oy."

Haruki turned to see Shinya grinning at her, leaning casually against the doorway.

"I smashed the elevator door open and put the thing permanently outta service," she said, snickering. "So this bitch's men won't be getting up here to check on her anytime soon. I also smashed all their cell phones, just in case she wakes up early and wants to use a phone to do the pager's job."

Getting to her feet, Haruki managed a quick nod.

"Th-thanks, Shinya. For everything. If you hadn't come in when you did—"

"The bitch was ruining my bath with all that noise she was making," Shinya said with a shrug, moving towards the window. "'Sides, Mahiru wants to do whatever she can to help you guys out. So don't mention it."

Swinging her hammer back, she smashed a jagged hole in the suite's large view window.

"I think I hear her," she said, grinning again.

As Haruki stared, bewildered, Shinya smirked and indicated her cell phone.

"Ya don't think I was seriously just taking a damn bath the whole time that bitch was goin' on and on, do ya? I'm stupid, but not that damn stupid. Mahiru made a little call for backup, y'know? And—"

Shinya's next words were drowned out by nothing other than the whirring of a helicopter that flew into view outside the window.

Hanabusa was visible from inside the helicopter, throwing a rope ladder down to the window.

Too short on time to waste any on disbelief or shock, Haruki turned and managed to shoot Shinya a shaky smile.

"Sh-Shinya, you're a genius," she said, which Shinya only waved off.

"Grab your sister, and let's get goin' to save your girlfriend and those brats, yeah?"

Cackling again, Shinya leapt out the window, snagging the rope ladder and clambering up to the copter.

Haruki turned back to Fuyuka, who sat quivering by the sofa and watching the screens.

Glancing back at Isuke's, Haruki took it and shoved it into one of the bodyguard's briefcases. It might prove helpful in trying locate her, and also to see if she was still…

Swallowing hard, Haruki shook her head.

There was no time for that. She just had to act. To move. To save her.

"Fuyuka, let's go. Don't worry, all right? I promise I'll take of everything," she said, taking her sister gently by the arm.

Fuyuka nodded, still crying weakly as she got to her feet.

Haruki helped her get out the window and up the rope ladder, following close behind with the gun tucked into her pocket and the briefcase in her hand.

Hanabusa was sitting in the back in some strange kind of bodysuit when they reached the top, and she offered a faint smile.

"Shinya-san provided me with only the basics of what is currently happening, but I am sure there is no time to explain further. Please simply instruct me, Sagae-san, and I will do everything in my power to help you," she said, rapidly stripping down a gun as she spoke. "While I unfortunately lack the authority, permission, and time to utilize the Hanabusa conglomerate fully, I can offer the services of my personal bodyguards, as well as my personal armory and, of course, myself."

"Thanks. Really, thank you so much," Haruki said, her mind racing as she surveyed the city below them.

"Can we get to the biggest internet café in Ikebukuro? I think there are a few people there that'll definitely be able to help."

As Hanabusa nodded and gave directions to the pilot, Haruki brought a hand to her face and closed her eyes.

They had time. They could do it.

The situation with her family could be resolved simply enough, now that she had Hanabusa's help. She knew where they were, and how to save them.

But with Isuke—

Haruki gritted had teeth and shook her head again.

It was possible. Even if they didn't know where she was, or how to get her, it was still possible, somehow.

And she would do it, no matter what.

_So please…until I get there, please hold on. _

* * *

Kensuke watched this young assassin called Inukai Isuke with something in between incredulity and a grudging kind of admiration.

Kensuke had seen men denailed before. It was really a nasty procedure, and even full-grown men were crying and screaming themselves hoarse long before the day was through.

But this slender, gorgeous little thing in front of him hadn't made a single sound yet.

Her entire body had convulsed, tears had automatically dropped from her eyes, and that pretty face of hers had wrenched with pain every time; but every time, instead of screaming, she had glowered at him and defiantly refused to let out even a whimper.

On the third nail, her body had finally given out from the agony and shock of it all, and she had quietly passed out.

Kensuke now sat watching her face, still twitching with pain even in unconsciousness.

"Seems like a real waste to kill her," he said, leaning back in his chair. "A real waste."

"Why d'you think she doesn't scream?" one of his men asked him, staring curiously down at the girl. "Pride?"

"I think that's definitely part of it," Kensuke replied, chuckling as he remembered the scornful look she had given him the moment he had removed her blindfold. "But the other part…"

He glanced at the camera that was on the table a few feet away from them recording the entire thing and sending a feed back to Ren.

He had caught Isuke looking at the camera once or twice, and had the suspicion that the girl wasn't screaming partially for the sake of that girlfriend of hers, who was probably being forced to watch the whole thing.

_I thought this girl was supposed to be some frigid, selfish bitch_, he mused, wrinkling his forehead in confusion. _Guess she's going soft. _

"Hey, how long do we hafta do this for?" Kazuo said from his seat on the ground. "This is boring as hell."

"You said we'd be allowed to fuck her, right?" Manabu chimed in, grinning. "When does that start?"

Kensuke frowned, irritably waving the two off.

"Keep it in your damn pants for two fucking minutes and stop asking me over and over," he said, shaking his head. "Sanada-sama said to just torture her this way until she gives us the signal. Once she pages us, you guys can fuck her all you want."

Isuke began to stir, and Kensuke somewhat reluctantly got back to his feet.

"Rise and shine, Isuke-chan. Still seven nails to go, y'know. Can't go fainting now," he said, and smiled at the responding glare.

Seeing eyes with such clarity and strong emotion, even while being tortured…it was a first for him.

Sighing, he shook his head.

It really was a waste.

But before he could touch the denailing contraption, Junji came jogging in from the other room.

"Morita, it's a call from the other group. Apparently they're suddenly not able to get into touch with Sanada-sama, and there were reports of a chopper flying in near the penthouse where she's supposed to be," he said, panting slightly. "They tried to check up on her, but the only way to reach the penthouse is with the elevator, and the elevator is apparently not working."

Kensuke frowned, taking the cell phone from his hand.

Jerking his head back to where Isuke lay on the table, he said to Junji, "Make sure those guys don't touch her. We have to wait for the damned signal."

He looked back once more at Isuke, smirking when he saw how bright and alert those amber eyes remained.

_I'd hate to see that fire go out too soon…guess we've both lucked out for just a bit longer, Inukai Isuke. _

* * *

"I just finished hacking into her private files this afternoon, and it's all right here: the location, the time, the people she's blackmailed, the police that she's bribed in order to keep them out of this business…everything. Even the details of what she's planning on having them…do to Inukai."

Haruki nodded jerkily, trying fruitlessly to stop the images that she had just seen on the screen from resurfacing in her mind.

"Thanks, Kenmochi," she said, looking down once at the screen to make sure that the man who had been using the denailing device on Isuke was still gone.

_He's probably gonna find out about what happened with Ren soon. We don't have much time. _

"Please give me the coordinates; I will have my pilot fly us there right away," Hanabusa said, placing a hand on the back of Shiena's chair.

"I'll be taggin' along too," Shinya said from her sprawl on the couch. "It'll be a damn fun party, smashing all those heads."

"H-Haruki-san!"

Haru moved forward, grasping her hand with her own.

Looking up at her with wide, frightened eyes, she said, "Haru wants to help, too! Isn't there anything Haru can do?"

Haruki managed a slight smile.

"Yeah, actually, there is. You and Azuma managed to find everyone and give them their diplomas, right? Do you think you can work with Kenmochi again and maybe—"

"Contact everyone and ask if they can help?" Haru finished for her.

At Haruki's answering nod, Haru solemnly said, "Haru and Shiena-chan will find them right away, Haruki-san. We'll get all the help we can."

"Then I'll come with you too, Sagae," Azuma said, stepping forward. "Haru and Kenmochi won't need my help with finding them."

Haruki shook her head.

"Actually, i-if you can, Azuma…do you think you can go with Hanabusa's men and help them…help them with—"

"I'll make sure your family is safe, Sagae," Azuma said, and nodded seriously at her. "Your mother, your siblings, all of them."

Haruki exhaled shakily in relief.

"Th-thanks. If it's you…"

Hanabusa's men were already on their way there, and would definitely get to the house and the hospital before Ren could come back to consciousness and order her own men to do anything.

But just in case...

_If anyone's suited for rescuing people just in time, it's her._

Getting to her feet, Haruki forced a crooked, strained version of her usual grin.

"Then, I'll be going."

Haru caught her sleeve before she could turn away, and looked earnestly up at her.

"Isuke-san will be fine, Haruki-san. Haru knows it," she said.

Haruki managed a weak chuckle.

"I hope you're right. I really, really hope you're right, Haru-chan."

* * *

Isuke lay in a haze of pain and confusion, dazed and drifting in and out of consciousness.

Her entire left hand felt like it was burning; pain lanced from the three denailed fingers and shot through the rest of her body.

_This is what I get for trying to be 'good,' _she thought, feeling the strangest, most irrational desire to laugh. _Good people are stupid, and stupid people suffer. _

Haruki was living proof of that, wasn't she?

She was the biggest idiot of them all, and had suffered more than anyone, but still bore it all with an unending supply of patience.

_Isuke isn't good, _she decided, and then did laugh; a soft, self-deprecating noise that echoed in the large room. _I'm not good, and I was never meant to be good. _

Isuke had no illusions about morals or altruism having motivated her choice.

It wasn't that she had felt some ethical qualms about letting Haruki's siblings be killed.

She wouldn't have liked it, maybe, but had it been just their lives against Isuke's, there would've been no question.

Isuke would've shot Kensuke and gotten away free, leaving all of them to die.

No, Isuke hadn't made her choice because she was a "new" or "changed" person. Not really.

She had done it because of Haruki.

Not for Haruki's sake, exactly.

She had done it acting solely on her feelings for Haruki, and that made her an idiot of a whole different kind.

_All of this because of some poor idiot who I've only known for less than a year, _Isuke thought, wincing as a fresh wave of pain coursed through her body. _How stupid can I be?_

Acting on her heart instead of her head…she really had abandoned Mama's lessons.

_Mama…I wonder…if he's worried. _

She stared down at her left hand, grimacing at the bloody, torn remains of the three ripped fingernail beds.

It hurt. It really, really hurt, more than her broken arm or stabbed wrist had.

It hurt more than anything Isuke had ever felt before, and she felt sick at the thought that she had seven more nails to go.

And the entire thing was made worse by knowledge of what was coming after that. The leering, impatiently waiting men surrounding her kept that knowledge clear in her mind.

But strangely, despite it all, Isuke could only feel a strange kind of numbness about the entire situation.

_Guess the shock of playing the stupid good guy hasn't worn off yet, _she mused, feeling that inexplicable desire to laugh yet again.

Behind her, the door slammed open, and Kensuke stalked into view.

Isuke watched him through half-closed lids as he made his way towards her.

"Sanada-sama is on her way here right now," he said, looking down at her with dark eyes.

Isuke could see fear in their depths, and would've rolled her own eyes if any movement didn't provoke waves of nausea.

"She wants to kill me herself, I guess," she said, smiling when her voice came out smooth and sweet despite the pain and nausea.

"No," Kensuke replied shortly. He paused, then frowned. "Well, yes. But that's only part of it. Your girlfriend's gotten away, and is probably on her way here to rescue you. She…did something do Sanada-sama, and now she's…extremely angry. The brats have somehow gotten away too. I'd bet anything she's coming here to take it out on you. Brace yourself, girl. Denailing is nothing compared to what that woman can do when she's angry."

Isuke stared at him, only barely hearing what he was saying.

_That idiot. _

Haruki…was coming here.

_That complete and utter idiot. She's going to get herself killed. _

There were dozens of fully armed men in this room alone. There were probably dozens more outside, and Ren was probably bringing even more.

Shaking her head, Isuke ground her teeth in frustration.

_Idiot, _she repeated, feeling a hint of dread coil deep inside her gut. _She can't come here. If she does, then…_

"You're worried about her, aren't you?"

Kensuke was studying her, forehead wrinkled in incredulity.

"I'm standing here telling you that Ren is coming here herself to torture and kill you, and you're worried about someone else. Exactly how special is this girl to you that she'd turn Inukai Eisuke's successor into…_this_?" he demanded.

"Call it a selfish concern over my investment 3" Isuke replied, mustering up a saccharine smile while ignoring the faint sense of confusion that his words brought about. "If that idiot were to die, all of this would have been for nothing, wouldn't it?"

Kensuke looked skeptical.

And then, leaning in, he said in a quiet voice, "Ren's a sick, twisted bitch. I'd seriously advise against running off that mouth of yours around her, girl."

Isuke raised a brow.

"If you're so concerned, how about undoing these chains and letting me go?" she said, tugging weakly at her bindings. "If you're not going to offer something useful like that, Isuke doesn't want to hear it 3"

The man barked out a laugh.

"You're a fearless and proud bitch, I'll give you that," he said, smirking. "Don't break too easily, girl."

Isuke then did roll her eyes, despite the nausea, and then closed them.

_Don't come here, you idiot, _she thought.

But in the back of her mind, she knew that Haruki definitely would.

She was an idiot, after all. And an even bigger one than Isuke was.

* * *

"There. That warehouse below us. When the helicopter reaches that area, I will jump down and clear the immediate opposition. I will also provide cover fire while you and Shinya-san make your way down the ladder and into the warehouse itself."

Haruki looked up at Hanabusa uncertainly.

"You're going to jump? From the helicopter?"

"Yes," Hanabusa replied calmly. "Please do not worry. I am more than equipped to make such jumps, and I have also survived much higher falls."

"But you said that your body is frail—"

"Ah, that," Hanabusa interrupted serenely, smiling, "was a bit of a lie. You will see for yourself soon enough, Sagae-san. Now please get ready. We're almost there."

Haruki nodded, pushing away her misgivings and focusing on adjusting her gloves. Hanabusa had a pair similar to the ones she had always used during her assassinations, as well as garrote wire.

Not that Haruki would be relying too heavily on these old weapons of hers; Haruki also held two guns and a Taser from Hanabusa's private armory.

"Should be fun," Shinya drawled, grinning at her in the darkness. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Stay safe, both of you," Haruki said quietly. "If you feel even a little bit like you have to retreat—"

"Please do not worry about us, Sagae-san. We will be fine, so please focus all of your energy on finding and rescuing Inukai-san. Now, then…"

After taking a few steps back, Hanabusa sprinted forward and leapt from the helicopter, plummeting down to the pavement below them.

* * *

After the events of Myojo, the Hanabusa conglomerate had not only restored Sumireko's body to full functionality, but had also enhanced it to be able to withstand falls twice as great as the one that had ended her assassination attempt on Ichinose Haru.

Sumireko hadn't planned on using these new features anytime soon, but…

_Such is life, with all its unexpected twists and turns, _Sumireko thought calmly to herself as she smashed down onto the concrete.

The dozens of armed men all around her could only stare in complete astonishment, and Sumireko took advantage of their shock by picking up a car, swinging full circle, and then chucking the vehicle at a group of them.

_That _galvanized them into action; they started running about, shouting obscenities and firing their weapons wildly.

Almost pitying them in their mass confusion and panic, Sumireko plucked a machine gun from one of their hands and politely apologized before unloading round after round on the now terrified and fleeing yakuza mobsters.

* * *

"What the fu—"

Smashing a fist into his mouth before he could finish the curse, Haruki fired several bullets at the man beside him.

In front of her, Shinya ran down the hallway, smashing doors and skulls alike as she cackled wildly and shouted Isuke's name.

"Where the hell are ya hiding the bitch, huh?" she demanded, shoving one man against the wall.

When the man cursed at her, Shinya snickered.

"Wrong answer," she said.

And she swung her hammer at his face.

Haruki grimaced, kicking another man into the wall and then unloading her gun on him, too.

_They're endless, _she thought as she garroted another that came running at her.

Hanabusa was taking care of even more outside, but even inside there had to be at least a hundred.

_I'll never be able to get to her at this rate. _

And, as she turned to kick yet another man, she found that he was suddenly dropping down onto his knees, scissor blades jutting out of his throat.

Takechi Otoya emerged from behind him, smiling brightly and waving in the dark gray of her prison uniform.

"Hope I'm not too late, Haruki-san!" she said cheerily, still smiling as she stabbed another man in the throat. "Harucchi and Shiena-chan _just _got me out here on 'community service.' Y'know, because I'm clearing out the trash. Get it?"

Takechi laughed to herself as she gutted another man that ran at her from behind.

"So here I am! Mm, I can't say this is _really_ my thing, considering that these are all ugly yakuza gangsters instead of cute girls, but still! Maybe I can get a reward from Harucchi later, right? Oh, and maybe Shiena-chan, too! And I think I saw Hanabusa-san here too, so that'll be even better!"

Haruki dodged behind the wall as a man fired at her from afar, and she offered Takechi a quick, uncertain smile.

"Uh, right. Whatever the reason, thanks so much for helping out, Takechi," she said sincerely, and then sprinted forward to kick the guy in the face as he scrambled to reload.

As she continued forward, she suddenly found that the amount of men abruptly started to lessen.

* * *

Elsewhere in the building, a tall, hulking yakuza mobster glared confusedly down at the little girl with the teddy bear that had wandered into the room.

"What the fuck are you doing in here, kid? Are you lost?" he demanded.

"No," the kid replied with a smile. "Chitaru-san is with me today, so I found my way just fine."

And, cheerfully raising her bear to his face, the kid shot him in the face with a very potent poison.

"Good job, Kirigaya," a voice said from above him as he fell down onto the ground. "Is he…"

"No, Chitaru-san," the kid replied. "I use stunning poisons now. He'll only be unconscious for a while."

"Good," the other voice said, sounding relieved. "Then let's keep going. Sagae needs all the help she can get."

* * *

A room somewhere blew up.

Unfortunately, it was the wrong room.

Fortunately, the room still held yakuza members, and therefore achieved the desired goal of the person who had planted the explosives despite the slight error.

"Well, that was close enough, Kouko-chan," Suzu said with a smile, patting her ex-roommate reassuringly on the shoulder. "And you still got them, so it's all right."

Kouko sighed quietly, leaning against the wall and placing the detonator on the ground.

At the sounds of footsteps outside of the room, Suzu stood, cocking a gun.

And she easily dropped all three of the men that appeared in the doorway.

Smiling at the look of surprise Kouko gave her, Suzu said, "A century of target practice can do wonders for your aim, Kouko-chan. Never underestimate an old woman."

* * *

In another room, a dozen men were screaming and flailing about, running headlong into walls and shooting at each other.

Hashiri Nio stood in their midst, grinning widely.

"Leave it to the Black Class to have reunions that are this much fun!" she exclaimed, munching on a melon bread as she stared down at her tablet.

"I should be back in no time at all," she told Yuri, who responded with a small smile on the tablet screen. "It seems even the Yakuza doesn't stand a chance against the Kuzunoha!"

* * *

Isuke cocked her head slightly, listening to the sudden commotion that had started up outside the room.

"Don't get your hopes up," Kensuke said beside her, shaking his head. "Your little rescue squad has to fight through dozens and dozens of men, while Ren is making her way here directly. She should be here any second now."

Isuke didn't reply, listening intently to the sounds of gunfire and screaming.

_You'd better be okay, Haruki. _

She didn't know if her roommate even knew how to use a gun. Wasn't the idiot too poor to afford any kind of training like that? How was she fighting dozens of armed mobsters?

The doors behind her finally opened.

"S-Sanada-sama! Y-your hand—"

A gunshot rang out, and Isuke turned to see Kensuke fall down onto his knees, clutching at his stomach.

"A maniac hiding in the bathroom with a gigantic hammer is a rather difficult detail to miss informing me of, Morita-san," came a velvety voice from behind her. "Thanks to your negligence, I have permanently lost the use of my right hand. I think your life should suffice to make up for this error."

Kensuke slumped down onto the ground, dead, and when Isuke looked up again, she came face to face with Sanada Ren.

Her hand, Isuke noticed, was utterly mangled, and Isuke mentally congratulated Shinya on a job _very_ well done (at least, she assumed it was Shinya, unless there had been some other "maniac hiding the bathroom with a gigantic hammer" that Isuke didn't know about).

Ren herself was trembling with fury, holding a gun limply in her left hand.

Isuke raised a brow, her lips curving upwards in her usual, poisonously sweet smile.

"Ah, what a temper. Very scary 3" she said, looking down again at Kensuke's corpse. "Is that what you plan on doing to me now?"

Ren was silent, eyes drifting over her slowly.

Finally, she said, "It seems that you've successfully managed to completely entrap Sagae Haruki. She's mounted a full-out assault in an attempt to save you."

When Isuke didn't reply, Ren glowered down at her.

"…you've taken someone from me before. Do you remember?"

Isuke rolled her eyes.

"Isuke doesn't know what you're talking about," she said.

And she really didn't. She remembered only vaguely that Ren had forever been nursing some age-old grudge over the fact that one of her old pets had run off a long time ago, chasing after Isuke and leaving Ren behind.

_It's not like Isuke had even wanted her, _she thought, unable to even remember what the girl had looked like. _She just came running after me on her own. _

Dropping the gun onto the ground, Ren pulled a long, serrated knife from her belt.

"How many men and women have you stolen from people like me, Inukai Isuke? How many people have you ensnared by spreading those legs of yours?"

Isuke responded with an amused, derisive laugh, eyes flicking dismissively over the knife.

"Have you ever considered even for a second that people leave you because you're an utterly insane and murderous old hag? I never _stole _anyone. No one has ever stolen anyone from you. They left by themselves, and for good reason," she said.

Ren's eyes flashed dangerously, and she pressed the flat end of the knife against Isuke's bare stomach.

"Then why is it," she hissed, "that they only leave once people like you show up? Selfish, arrogant bitches like you?"

The steel was cold against her skin, and Isuke suppressed a shudder.

"Because selfish, arrogant bitches like Isuke are very, very attractive 3" she said flippantly, and smirked at the rage on the older woman's face.

She was dizzy with pain and exhaustion, but even in this state Isuke knew that she was playing a dangerous game.

If Ren was collected, cool, and logical, then she would know that killing Isuke quickly would be the best course of action, finishing the job before anyone could get to her.

But if she was angry…

_She's going to try to hurt me, _Isuke thought with a grim smile. _And she's going to try to prolong the pain for as much as possible. _

And pain, even intense and prolonged pain, would be preferable to death.

There was a long silence, in which Ren simply stared at her.

And then, bringing her hand to Isuke's throat, she whispered:

"A filthy slut like you…doesn't deserve Haruki."

The mocking, provocative words that Isuke had prepared died on her tongue.

She thought of that idiot, running around somewhere in the building trying to find her.

And, looking away from the other woman, she responded with a small smile.

"I know," she said.

Ren looked down at her sharply, brows lowering.

"If you know, then why do you stay with her?"

Isuke glanced up at her, and her smile widened in amusement.

"Because I'm a selfish, arrogant bitch, of course 3"

And that did it.

Isuke saw that these were the words that made Sanada Ren snap, and yet she didn't fully realize what Ren did next until she felt an odd warmth pool around her abdomen.

At first, strangely, there was only a dull, pounding sensation as Isuke stared down at the blade jutting out of her stomach.

But then Ren twisted the knife, and Isuke couldn't help but whimper at the sharp, tearing feeling.

Ren had taken the bait, giving in to anger instead of simply ending her life with a bullet, but—

Ren ripped the knife out and stabbed her again.

_If…if I can survive, _Isuke thought, her mind clouded with pain, _then this much is preferable. It's better than she does this and wastes time._

"Undo her bindings."

The men unchained her, and Isuke fell heavily down onto the ground, every breath coming in a ragged, painful gasp.

"Do you know what I did to Haruki last time, in order to punish her for her disobedience?"

Ren's ripped the cast off of her arm, tearing into the material with her knife.

"I made a mistake back then. I shouldn't have done it to her. I should've done it to you from the beginning. Everything…everything is your fault."

Isuke heard the bone crack, and for one blinding, dizzying moment she saw nothing but white.

And from outside the room, she could hear a distant crashing sound.

"Go out and kill anyone who tries to get inside here," Ren commanded from above her.

Hearing the men run out of the room, Isuke forced herself to look up at the door.

_"Kill anyone" includes Haruki, doesn't it? That idiot is trying to get in here. That idiot…that idiot can't die. _

Ren's boot came down, her heel digging into Isuke's gut.

Isuke's body convulsed and writhed in pain.

And yet Isuke's mind barely registered the feeling, focusing instead on Haruki, who she knew was somewhere out there.

* * *

A bullet grazed Haruki's shoulder, and she gritted her teeth as she smashed her fist into the shooter's jaw.

_She's here. _

Isuke had to be here, inside of that room.

The last group of men was surrounding the area, positioned all around the doors.

_She's here, _Haruki repeated to herself, gathering up all of her remaining energy.

Isuke was here, and since the men were guarding the room, that meant that she was…she had to still be alive.

She had to be.

An explosion went off to her right, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Kouko duck behind a wall as the men were sent flying.

Several more men abruptly dissolved into mass-hysteria, fighting unseen illusions, and Haruki could see Nio perched atop a table to her left.

As her ex-classmates routed the men surrounding the room, Haruki sprinted to the nearest door, driving her fist straight into his face and then kicking him out of the way.

The door was locked; rearing back, Haruki rammed into the door several times, summoning all the strength she had.

On the fifth try, the door smashed open, splintering to pieces.

And Haruki staggered into the room to see Isuke on the ground.

In that split second, Haruki saw everything.

She saw the blood oozing out of gaping holes in Isuke's stomach. She saw the unnatural way her arm was bent back and twisted. She saw Ren, kneeling by her and holding a jagged, crimson knife.

She saw Isuke's eyes crack open, glazed and dull, to meet hers.

And in that split second, Haruki cleared the room.

Smashing her leg into Ren's side, she sent the woman crashing down onto the floor.

Haruki pulled her gun from its holster.

With three shots from her pistol, Sanada Ren was dead.

Haruki barely registered the murder as she turned around, dropping down onto the ground.

"I-Isuke…"

She shook uncontrollably as she took the other girl into her arms, terrified of even raising her voice.

There was blood everywhere.

_Too much, _she thought feverishly, tearing off her jacket and pressing it to the wounds. _This is too much. She can't—she can't lose this much. _

"Isuke," she breathed again, swallowing convulsively. "You're gonna be okay. Everything… I-I've got you, okay? I swear, I won't—"

Her voice broke, and she looked desperately back at the door.

There was still fighting. She couldn't take her out yet. She couldn't move her yet.

_But I have to. She needs an ambulance. She needs a hospital. If she doesn't get it soon, she's going to…Isuke's going to—_

"I…idiot."

Isuke's eyes fluttered half-open, and she stared up at her quietly.

* * *

The idiot, Isuke realized, was actually crying.

_Of all the things she could choose to finally cry about, _she thought, _that idiot chooses this. She chooses me, of all people…_

She didn't have the energy to scoff or give her usual smile, and whenever she tried to move, her body didn't seem to listen to her.

_But…but that idiot is crying, and an idiot like her needs…needs comfort from someone, or else she'll just…_

Tugging at Haruki's shirt, she exhaled shallowly.

"…your…your family," she murmured, leaning her head tiredly on Haruki's shoulder.

Haruki stared down at her, looking physically pained as she pressed her wadded-up shirt against Isuke's stomach.

"Th-they're fine, Isuke, because of you. They're fine, Azuma went to save them a long time ago, but—Isuke, I-I don't know how to…your wounds, th-they're not—"

Isuke gazed at her roommate, listening to her panicked, incoherent stammering and watching her frantically try to staunch the bleeding with her clothes.

The dumb, overly kind idiot didn't even seem to get what Isuke had been trying to say.

_Your family is fine, idiot, so…so there's no need for you to be crying. _

But Haruki _was_ crying, and for the first time, Isuke wondered vaguely to herself if she was going to die.

She had known that objectively, even while she had been taunting Ren to buy time, the danger had always been there.

But it just hadn't occurred to her that it might actually happen.

Not to Inukai Isuke.

She smiled to herself.

That was her arrogance, she supposed.

Isuke closed her eyes.

She obviously didn't want to die, and she knew that she should be scared, or angry, or…or something.

_If Isuke was just a little less…tired, then maybe…_

But, as it was, she just felt weary.

"Isuke, p-please, you have to stay awake. If you sleep now, I don't know—Isuke, listen to me, okay? You have to stay awake."

Isuke sighed, feeling the faintest spark of _something_ stirring through her fog of exhaustion at the sound of that idiot's voice.

"Isuke, I have to tell you something, remember? I-I really, really need to tell you something," she was saying.

Isuke could feel the other girl's hand, rough with calluses and yet gentle and warm, rest on her cheek.

"I need you to stay awake until I tell you, Isuke. Until we can get you into an ambulance, and once we're at the hospital, I need to tell you…"

Isuke slipped deeper into the haze that overwhelmed her, barely able to make out what Haruki was saying so urgently.

She couldn't see anything, and couldn't hear anything.

But she could still feel.

And in that next moment, she suddenly felt lips pressing against hers.

Isuke opened her eyes.

It was clumsy, abrupt, and desperate, but Haruki was kissing her, her fingers tangling in Isuke's hair as her lips moved against Isuke's own.

Even in her fatigue, she felt a strange, distant spark somewhere inside of her, and her weak pulse quickened.

And even as Haruki pulled back, she was whispering softly, desperately in Isuke's ear:

"Please, Isuke, you...don't you remember your promise? We promised to have our talk, remember? There's so much I have to tell you. S-so much I have to do for you, so you can't—"

Haruki swallowed hard, and she pulled Isuke in closer to her chest.

"P-please, just stay awake. You'll be fine, so just don't close your eyes, and soon, as soon as they come, then…"

Slowly, as Haruki continued to speak, the fog around Isuke's mind began to lift.

That was right. She had promised.

_A pinky promise…like we're little kids, or something. _

Isuke shuddered at the pain that had returned when the haze had receded.

But she gritted her teeth and clutched at Haruki's shirt.

_I…I did promise. _

Dimly aware of the sudden rush of footsteps, and only vaguely hearing the clamor of voices above her, Isuke tightened her grip on Haruki's shirt.

She had promised.

And so Isuke couldn't die here.

_I can't, _she repeated. _I won't. _

After all...after all, only the good died young.

And Isuke…

She almost smiled.

Isuke wasn't good.

She was too selfish to die yet, and so she wouldn't. She couldn't.

She had promised this idiot, and so she...she couldn't die.

She had promised, and...

_...and I...I have something I need to tell her too, don't I?_

* * *

A/N: I apologize in advance, as this week is extremely busy, but I'll try my best to have the next chapter (or the alternate version, if that's what you guys want) up as soon as I possibly can.

* * *

**Chapter 12: Alternate Chapter 11**

* * *

**EDIT: lolll you guys i have to go out in like five seconds but since there's so much confusion I really quickly made another poll; some people seem to be confused over which is the original and which is the rewrite, so if you can, please vote again on the new poll as well. I know some people probably won't get a chance to see this remade poll, so I'll take the results of both polls into consideration for the final choice! The remade poll is also on my profile.**

* * *

**Please just read all the bolded parts of the A/N, even if you don't want to read the chapter itself. **

A/N: Lollll I love you guys very much and you're all awesome people but I feel like every time I ask a question the opinion is always split perfectly down the middle hahaha; makes it very difficult to choose one thing or another based on reviews loll.

But anyway! For this dilemma I just decided to go with this:** this is the alternate version of chapter 11.** Quite a lot of people asked for it, and so here it is. I would have liked to post chapter 11 alt. and chapter 12 at the same time, and I sincerely apologize, but two of my friends have their 21st bdays this weekend and let's face it...I'm probably going to be lying in bed cursing myself for always thinking that I have a high tolerance when I actually don't more than I'll be writing. If by some miracle I decide to be rational for once and drink responsibly, then I can probably manage to have chapter 12 up by the end of the weekend. If not, then please expect it sometime early next week. Again, I sincerely apologize to you all you wanted chapter 12 next/uploaded with chapter 11 alt, but as our resident kindly anon said, authors do have social lives too hahaha. But I will do my best to have chapter 12 up asap!

Okay, on to the less fun stuff...so, warnings for this chapter. The answer to the main question that everyone seems have is **yes, there is sexual coercion in this chapter.** While certain politicians may disagree, sexual coercion is basically rape. So yes, there is rape in this chapter. Nothing explicit, but it is there. Before I say anything else, please allow me to make something very clear: I am not trying to throw in a rape scene simply for the cheap effects of angst/grimdarkrealism. I am fully aware of how sensitive and horrible an issue it really is, and I sincerely hope that once you've read this chapter, you understand why it was included. Again, I apologize if this still offends you, **but I ask that you please simply do not read this chapter if it upsets you.**

That said, another reason why I can't upload chapter 12 yet is because it would be different based on the chapter 11 that you guys preferred. See, the way it is now, I'm pretty sure that most people will prefer the rewrite if only because they don't want to read/don't like the darker content of this alternate version, which is why I rewrote it in the first place. However, to be fair to everyone, I decided to make a poll and figure things out that way. If you click on my name above (bouncingsunflowers), there's a link to a poll on my profile. **Please vote there to choose which version of chapter 11 you would prefer to be the one that chapter 12 and of course the rest of the story will follow.**Also, if you send me a PM/leave a review explaining your vote, I'll count it twice :) PPS, if you want to vote for the rewrite but don't want to read the alternate at all, that's totally fine too. I'm really just having the poll to be fair to the people who wanted this alternate version :)

Basically, the chapter 11 rewrite was the one in true AnR, over-the-top, TITANIUM RIBS, SURPRISE EVERYONE LIVES ;D fashion. The near-miraculous reunion of the Black Class was the most glaring aspect of this craziness, but there's also the fact that Ren was kinda stupid and incompetent throughout the chapter, starting with when she decided to go up to a hotel room that isn't even hers to speak with Haruki. Shinya's perfect timing and Hanabusa swooping in to pick them up in five seconds was a little much too, as well as the fact that a veteran assassin like Eisuke didn't notice anything off about Ryo's disapperance and Isuke suddenly being out of contact. Some of you seemed to like all of this anyway, which is great :D and tbh I really enjoyed writing it too, just like I really enjoyed watching AnR, haha.

But a lot of you wanted a darker version with more action, which is essentially what this is. It starts off the same way, and some parts in the story might probably sound similar, since the chapter you read is a rewrite of this one. But for the most part, starting from when Ren tells Haruki to get into the car instead of the hotel, this chapter is vastly different. If you remember what happened in the last chapter, just skip the first part until you get to where Haruki sees Ren for the first time after getting tricked by Nanjo. The denailing part is also somewhat similar, so you can skim that as well. But from there on out, everything takes a pretty different turn, so...yeah.

**To inject a little bit of lightheartedness into this kinda dark chapter, I have another poll that I want you guys to take lol, since I've been getting a looooooooot of requests **for an...intimate scene between Haruki and Isuke. I don't really know how old you guys are, lol, and if I'm going to be corrupting even one pure, sheltered soul by including smut, then sorry, but nope, I'm not going to do it. Therefore, please be honest when you take the poll. It basically just asks if you want to see Haruki and Isuke getting busy (winkwinkenudgenudge) before the story ends. It's anonymous, so it's not like people are gonna come hunting you down if you don't want a sex scene lol. So please please please be 100% truthful. That poll is under the other one on my profile. Please take that one as well :)

Okay, so here's the alternate version of chapter 11.

* * *

"H-Haruki-chan! There you are!"

At the sound of her voice, Haruki turned to see her elderly neighbor leaning on her cane by the hotel entrance.

Trotting over to her, Haruki waved a hand and grinned.

"Nanjo-san! I can't believe you really came all the way here just to drop off some gyoza," she said, chuckling as she offered the old woman her arm for support.

Nanjo offered a tremulous smile, taking her arm in a tight grip.

"W-well, I stopped by at your house with the food, Haruki-chan, and Fuyuka-chan told me that you were here with some lovely young friend of yours, I had to come here in person to see for myself," she said, with a thin, almost shrill laugh.

Haruki looked down at the woman in surprise and some concern.

Her neighbor was the grandmotherly type, always bringing over snacks and food; doing something like this wasn't unusual by any means.

But now that Haruki could see her face-to-face, the old woman seemed strangely and uncharacteristically nervous.

"Everything okay, Nanjo-san?" she said, peering down at the anxious woman.

Nanjo nodded rapidly, smiling again as she replied, "Oh, just a bit tired, my dear. Now, if you could follow me back to my car, we can pick up the containers and bring them up. The reason I called you down here is because I can't do it alone."

"Right," Haruki said. "Lead the way, then, Nanjo-san."

Her neighbor began hobbling out the door, and Haruki carefully helped her along.

_I wonder if Isuke likes gyoza, _she thought, smiling as she walked. _I should get her to try some when we get back. She never eats enough. _

"Sorry for making you walk all this way, Haruki-chan," Nanjo said. "I had trouble finding parking."

"No problem," Haruki replied genially, looking around the dark and small parking lot for Nanjo's car.

"Ah, by the way, Nanjo-san, I wanted to thank you for calling me when you did," Haruki added, looking down at her neighbor. "Even if it hadn't been to bring me your awesome food, I was really relieved to hear that you were just with Fuyuka and the others. They hadn't been picking up, and I was getting a bit worried until you called."

Nanjo abruptly stopped walking.

Haruki stopped beside her, peering inquisitively at the old woman's strangely blank expression.

"Nanjo-san? What's—"

"R-run, Haruki-chan," Nanjo whispered.

Her fingers dug into Haruki's arm, and she looked up at her with wide, terrified eyes.

"You have to run now, Haruki-chan, and get back to that girl before they—"

A tall, dark figure abruptly swung a leg out from behind them, kicking Nanjo's cane and sending the old woman staggering forwards.

Haruki moved instinctively, reaching out just in time to catch her neighbor before she hit the ground.

_W-what the—_

"Wow, nice reflexes, Haruki-san. You really are just as cool as they say."

The figure stepped out in the light of the streetlamp, grinning down at her.

He was clean-shaven and dressed nicely in a crisp-black suit, but Haruki knew with one look that there was something very, very dangerous about this guy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Haruki said, easing her trembling neighbor upright. "If I hadn't caught her—"

"She would've broken her hip or thrown out her back, yeah. But she would've deserved it, the way she was chickening out at the last minute," the man interrupted.

Narrowing her eyes, Haruki was about to ask just what the hell he was babbling about when Nanjo suddenly started to cry in her arms.

"I'm sorry, Haruki-chan…I'm so sorry, but they threatened to kill me if I didn't listen, and I have four grandchildren that need me. I had to do it, Haruki-chan. I'm so, so sorry," she said, eyes downcast and ashamed.

Even as Haruki's mind raced to process what she was saying, Haruki gently handed Nanjo her cane and helped her stand again.

"What are you talking about, Nanjo-san?" she asked, looking intently up at her. "You had to do what? And who threatened to kill you?"

"My boss did, of course," the man answered for Nanjo, laughing. "And until you decided to be a little cheater and run off with that pink-haired slut, my boss was your boss, too."

…_my…boss…?_

And, even in the heat of the summer night, Haruki suddenly felt numb with cold.

"…you…you work for Ren?"

The man chuckled, nodding.

"Sure do. And so did this little old lady, for just a little bit, by getting you out here."

Haruki automatically looked down at Nanjo, who wouldn't meet her gaze.

_Nanjo…tricked me into coming out here? For…for Ren?_

Overwhelmed by confusion and disbelief, Haruki turned back to the man.

And she saw the barrel of a gun as his hand went down to his belt.

She reacted instantly, whipping her leg out and kicking the man in the gut before he could draw the weapon.

The man dropped down to one knee, winded, and Haruki twisted his arm back behind his back.

Kicking him down to the ground, she pressed her knee down against his back and demanded, "What the hell is going on here? What is Ren trying to do?"

The man coughed, still sneering as he glared up at her.

"You're pretty damn strong for a girl, huh? Unfortunately, no matter how strong you are, there's no helping you here," he said, snickering. "Not when we've got your precious family at gunpoint."

He suddenly shrieked in pain, and Haruki dully realized that she had unconsciously tightened her grip on his wrist until a bone had cracked.

_The reason why I couldn't get into contact with them…Ren, she must have…_

"…what does she want from me?" she asked, wondering how her voice managed to remain steady as fear welled up inside her.

_Aki, Fuyuka, and all the others…and Mom, she…_

"She just wants to make sure you stay put instead of running off to save that slut of yours," the man rasped, his face twisting in pain. "'Course, now that Nanjo got you out here, it'd be too late anyway."

For one, terrifying moment, everything in the world seemed to freeze.

Nanjo's words came flooding back to her; "get back to that girl," she had said.

By leaving the hotel room, even for a few minutes, she had separated from Isuke.

_Isuke…Isuke's in danger. _

"Looking pretty pale there, Haruki-san," the man taunted, mouth stretched in another grin. "And I haven't even told you what the others have planned for Inukai Isuke yet. If I did—"

He cried out again, cursing as Haruki wrenched his other arm back.

"Where is she? And what the hell do you mean, 'what the others have planned' for her? If you don't explain everything right now, I swear I'm going to break both of your arms," Haruki said, panic and dread funneling into anger.

_I've only been out here for five minutes at most. There's no way she can be—_

"She's probably out in the hotel parking lot, but I'm telling you it's no use. You take one step in the wrong direction, and your family will have their brains blown out."

Smashing the man's head down into the pavement, Haruki grabbed the gun from his belt and shoved it against his temple.

"What the hell are you saying?" she snarled, hands shaking. "How would she know what I'm doing?"

"Because I'm watching you, my dear."

Haruki froze at the sound of that voice.

Sanada Ren emerged from a black van, smiling and flanked by two bodyguards.

"I had been planning on greeting you properly when you reached the car, but I'm afraid Nanjo-san seemed to have a little crisis of conscience," she said, her voice smooth and her expression placid as she approached. "So why don't you come continue on your own? There's something that I want to show you in here. Something that I think you'd really be quite interested in seeing."

Haruki rose unsteadily to her feet, vision darkening as her fingers twitched towards the trigger of the gun.

"Ren, I swear to you, if you've done anything to Isuke—"

"If I've done anything to Isuke?" Ren interrupted, with a short laugh. "Not worried about your family, then? Is Isuke the new number one in your life? How fickle you are, Haruki."

Raising a hand, she wagged a long finger.

"And if I were you, I'd put that gun down, my dear. I'm in a very bad mood right now, and your rudeness is only exacerbating it. If you continue to wave that thing around, I might just get angry enough to, let's say…shoot a hole through dear little Aki's head."

Haruki trembled, a hot, blind rage shooting through her veins at those words.

Violently suppressing her anger, Haruki breathed out a short, desperate curse.

The gun fell from her limp fingers.

"…what the hell do you want, Ren?" she said, her voice rough with fear and anger.

_Isuke…if Isuke gets hurt, it'll be because she was involved with me. It would be because she helped me. If she gets hurt—_

Haruki dug her nails into her palms, clenching until the skin tore and bled.

_No. _

Isuke couldn't get hurt. She wouldn't get hurt.

_I can't let that happen. _

"I told you, didn't it? I want to show you something. Let's be civilized and conduct our business indoors, hmm? And do remember: if you even try to run off in some misguided and hopeless attempt to rescue that whore of yours, you'll be killing each and every member of your family."

Haruki felt hollow as she followed Ren into the van, her mind swamped with emotion and overrun with thoughts.

By the time she seated inside, she felt sick, sick and half-crazy with dread.

_What the hell should I do? What the hell can I do? _she thought feverishly, bringing a clammy hand to her forehead.

In front of her, Ren's bodyguards produced two computer monitors from their briefcases, setting them down on the seats in front of her.

Haruki watched, motionless, as both screens flickered to life.

On one, all of her siblings lay bound on the floor of her home, surrounded by armed men.

On the other, Isuke lay unconscious and blindfolded, chained down to a table by her wrists and ankles.

Haruki felt her stomach drop, twisting painfully at both sights.

"…I'm told," Ren began, leaning back in her seat, "that your precious Isuke-chan actually willingly gave herself up so that your family wouldn't be killed."

Haruki looked at her in disbelief, her knuckles going white in her lap.

"You…you used my family to…"

_And Isuke…Isuke actually gave herself up in exchange for them. She's there now because…because of my—_

"Yes, I'm told it was all very heroic and noble, though our suddenly altruistic Isuke apparently looked just as shocked by her own actions as my men were," Ren said, leaning indolently against the van's window. "Unfortunately for dear Isuke-chan, the first and only good deed of her life will also be her last."

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Haruki had known what Ren had been planning from the moment that she discovered that Isuke had been captured.

But hearing it put into words was…different.

Haruki got to her feet.

_Ren is going to kill her. _

If Haruki didn't do something, Ren was going to kill Isuke.

Isuke dead—it was impossible.

There was a gaping, empty void whenever Haruki even thought of the _idea _that Isuke might—that she would actually…

_No. Impossible._

"Don't touch her, Ren," she said, somehow managing to speak clearly despite the way her throat painfully constricted.

Ren arched a brow.

"Do you really believe that you are in the position to be making commands, my dear?" she said, smile widening.

"This isn't a command. It isn't a threat, either, or anything like that," Haruki replied, anger overwhelming all else. "It's just a promise: if you even try to take her life, I'm going to take yours."

Her fingers twitched, and in the back of her mind the familiar motions of handling a garrote were grotesquely clear.

"…I swear it," she said quietly.

Ren's smile twisted, and her countenance darkened with hatred.

"Didn't you say you never wanted to kill again, Haruki? I see that Inukai Isuke really has wrought several changes in you," she said, letting out a sharp, biting laugh. "Didn't I warn you that she would corrupt you?"

"She didn't do anything," Haruki replied, eyes narrowing. "This is—"

"This is what? Tell me, Haruki, why is it that you care about what happens to Inukai Isuke?" Ren asked, turning fully towards her. "I must say that Isuke's surrender also caught me by surprise. Could it be that you two genuinely think you have something sweet and special?"

Ren's smile was broad and mocking.

"I wonder, Haruki, if you've ever stopped to consider the fact that this girl kills other people for a living. And not to feed her starving little siblings and provide for her ailing mother, like with you and your heartwarming little story. She has more than enough money, as you yourself undoubtedly know. But she kills anyway; and how much sleep do you think she loses over every single life she takes?"

Pausing, Ren let out a quiet laugh.

"I think you and I both know that she doesn't lose a single wink," she finished.

Haruki was silent, twisting her fingers together to keep them from trembling.

"…what are you getting at?" she asked, gaze fixed on the screens in front of her.

Ren chuckled.

"This person who you're so very concerned over is nothing more than a frigid, arrogant, cold-blooded murderer. I think that objectively, the world would honestly be better off without someone like her. In a way, wouldn't killing her be doing a good deed?"

Haruki shifted in her seat to glower at the other woman.

"Ren—"

"You're letting your feelings get the better of you, my dear, but I suppose that is to be expected, after Isuke only just sacrificed herself for your siblings, and all. It was a surprising spur of the moment decision, I must admit, but I do wonder…"

Canting her head to one side, Ren raised a finger and went on:

"If repeatedly given the choice, would Inukai Isuke continue this unexpected trend?"

Haruki stared at her, her body rigid with worry and anger.

"What are you talking about?"

"You really shouldn't glare at me so. I am planning on being very benevolent, my dear. You see…at first, I had been planning on simply having my men ravage and then kill your precious Isuke. And then I was going to have your family killed. End of story."

She smirked at the way Haruki went white, continuing, "But her unanticipated and entirely uncharacteristic act of selflessness, along with, of course, your strong and terribly obvious feelings for the girl, has changed my mind. I'm quite curious now, you see."

Haruki narrowed her eyes.

_What is she…_

"My dear Haruki, you chose that pretty little slut over me. Therefore, we shall let her be the arbitrator in this situation instead of me. From now on, whether the members of your family live or die shall depend entirely on the goodwill of Inukai Isuke."

* * *

"…what are you saying?"

Kensuke smiled grimly down at her.

"I'm only repeating what Sanada-sama told me to say. 'From now on, you will determine the fate of each and every member of Haruki's family,'" he said.

Isuke scowled, tugging irritably at the chains that chafed at her wrists and ankles.

"Fine, then. Isuke wants to let them all go. All done 3" she said, smiling sweetly up at the stupid man. "And why don't you let me go while you're at it?"

Kensuke barked out a laugh.

"You're a fearless little bitch, I'll give you that. But let's see how long you can keep up this nonchalance, huh?"

Leaning in close, he muttered, "Ren is a twisted fuck, girl, and she's furious right now. I'd brace myself, if I were you."

* * *

"I was thinking that we could start simple. Have you ever heard of _yubitsume__**, **_Haruki? It's an interesting ritual that the yakuza has when punishing members who have committed grave offences. It involves using a knife to methodically cut off your own fingers, starting from the top of your left pinky. The more serious the offence…the more fingers you have to cut off.

"It's all very interesting, but dear Isuke-chan is unfortunately not a member of the yakuza, so the punishment wouldn't be very fitting, would it? So as I tried to think of a similar but more appropriate form of punishment, I remembered that the slut is so very fond of her lovely, perfectly manicured fingernails."

On the second screen, a man walked into view, holding a strange metal device equipped with a wedge and a lever.

"It's a modern version of the same contraptions the Europeans used in their medieval torture dungeons," Ren said, smiling. "You slip the victim's nail under the wedge, and, hammering down on the lever, watch as the nail is slowly ripped from the nail bed and torn off."

The world spun, and a sudden, powerful wave of nausea overcame Haruki as she slumped down in her seat.

"It's an incredibly painful procedure, and is often still used as a form of torture today. I was thinking that for your three youngest siblings, we could begin with one nail each."

"Ren, you—"

"If Inukai Isuke agrees to have a nail ripped off for each of your three youngest siblings, I will let those three go, right before your eyes."

"You can't do this."

Haruki brought a trembling hand to her temples, blocking out the terror and revulsion that wrenched at her gut.

She had to stay calm. She couldn't panic, or Isuke would…

On the screen, the man placed the device by Isuke's hand.

Haruki forced her eyes away.

"What is it that you want? You know I'll do anything for you to stop this," she said, doing everything to keep her voice steady. "Ren, please, you can't—"

"All I want is to understand the appeal of someone like Inukai Isuke," Ren interrupted smoothly. "A selfish, cold, prideful whore like her…what exactly is there to like? I need to know…and I'm going to find out right now."

Haruki violently forced down her panic, focusing instead on the two other men in the car with them.

_I need something, anything, as a distraction. Even for just two seconds, I need…_

"I think I can see the steam coming out of your ears, my dear, and I would strongly advise against plotting anything. As things are now, none of your family members have to die. I have already paid quite a significant sum in order to ensure that certain members of the police force look the other way during this kidnapping. I would rather avoid having to pay them billions more should I actually need to kill any of them.

"But, should you attempt anything, then this entire setup will be ruined, and in my anger at this I might just do something irrational."

Haruki felt the bitter taste of bile rise in the back of her throat, and she screwed her eyes shut as swallowed hard.

_I can't just sit here and watch this. That's impossible. I have to…there has to be something that I can—_

"My poor, poor pet, don't look so distraught! Don't you have faith in your precious Isuke? If she really is a person worthy of your affection, then I should think that she would be more than willing to have a few nails torn out. It should be nothing for her, right?"

There was the sound of faint voices coming from the screen, and Haruki opened her eyes to see the man leaning down, repeating what Ren had said to Isuke.

There was a long silence, and with Isuke's face turned away from the screen, her reaction was impossible to discern.

"Oh…is she having doubts already?" Ren said, chuckling. "My, but how unfortunate, Haruki. At this rate…but let's not judge her yet. Perhaps she'll come around."

And, on the screen, Isuke suddenly gave a stiff, jerky nod.

* * *

Isuke lay in a haze of pain and confusion, dazed and drifting in and out of consciousness.

Her entire left hand felt like it was burning; pain lanced from the three denailed fingers and shot through the rest of her body.

_This is what I get for trying to be 'good,' _she thought, feeling the strangest, most irrational desire to laugh. _Good people are stupid, and stupid people suffer. _

Haruki was living proof of that, wasn't she?

She was the biggest idiot of them all, and had suffered more than anyone, but still bore it all with an unending supply of patience.

_Isuke isn't good, _she decided, and then did laugh; a soft, self-deprecating noise that echoed in the large room. _I'm not good, and I was never meant to be good. _

Isuke had no illusions about morals or altruism having motivated any of the choices she had made that night.

It wasn't that she had felt some ethical qualms about letting Haruki's siblings be killed.

She wouldn't have liked it, maybe, but had it been just their lives against Isuke's, there would've been no question.

Had it even been their lives against Isuke's fingernails, really, she knew what she eventually would have chosen.

Isuke would've shot Kensuke and gotten away free.

She would have refused to be denailed and simply let the three kids be killed.

No, Isuke hadn't made any of her choices because she was a "new" or "changed" person. Not really.

She had done it because of Haruki.

Not for Haruki's sake, exactly.

She had done it acting solely on her feelings for Haruki, and that made her an idiot of a whole different kind.

_All of this because of some poor idiot who I've only known for less than a year, _Isuke thought, wincing as a fresh wave of pain coursed through her body. _How stupid can I be?_

Acting on her heart instead of her head…she really had abandoned Mama's lessons.

_Mama…I wonder…if he's worried. _

She stared down at her left hand, grimacing at the bloody, torn remains of the three ripped fingernail beds.

It hurt. It really, really hurt, more than her broken arm or stabbed wrist had.

It hurt more than anything Isuke had ever felt before, and she knew it was all far from over.

Isuke swallowed thickly, wetting her lips with her tongue and then wincing at the stinging feeling.

They were raw and bleeding, and Isuke realized dully that she must have been biting down on them to keep from screaming.

Glancing to her right, she saw the recording light blinking on the camera.

"…the reason why you didn't scream…it was for her sake, wasn't it?"

Isuke scowled at the sound of Ren's lackey's voice.

"Nope. Not at all," she replied, somehow managing to summon her usual smile. "Isuke just wasn't about to scream like a baby in front of a bunch of trash like you. Call it arrogance 3"

Kensuke smirked, shaking his head.

"I know it was for her sake. That girl's made you soft, Inukai Isuke."

Isuke's smile became strained, and she closed her eyes.

_Tell me something I don't know. _

"…the three youngest brats have been released. They're with the cops that we bribed, stationed outside the house to make sure no one comes investigating. They may be greedy bastards, but they sure as hell won't actually let anyone kill kids right in front of them. You've actually saved three lives, girl," Kensuke said, tossing his phone down onto the table.

Isuke could have laughed.

Inukai Eisuke's successor, raised to be an assassin from childhood, saving lives.

_The irony is just too rich. _

"…you don't look so good. There are still six brats left, and then the mother. Don't go passing out on us yet."

Isuke said nothing.

Seven left. And the tradeoff was only going to get worse from here.

_Why am I being so stupid? _she wondered dazedly. _I might even be stupider than that idiot. _

If that idiot were in Isuke's position, then…

And, sighing softly, she rolled her eyes.

_If Haruki were in my position, she'd get her entire hand torn off before she let anyone die, _she thought, with the faintest of smiles.

…_never mind. I guess no one can be a bigger idiot than her, after all. _

She took in a slow, shuddering breath.

_So…if it's for her…_

* * *

"Ren, please. Continue this on me instead. Please, Isuke doesn't…she doesn't—"

"Doesn't deserve it? Oh, I think the families of her targets would disagree with you. And continue this on you? What would be the point of that, my dear? I already know quite well how very selfless and noble you are. What I want to see is Isuke's shining character; the character that you apparently are so very fond of. I must say, she's surprised me thus far…but I'd like to see how she continues to hold up."

Haruki raked a hand through hair, feeling her stomach continue to twist inside of her.

She felt sick.

She was clammy and shaking, and every time she closed her eyes she saw the way Isuke's body had convulsed in pain as each nail had been slowly, torturously hammered out.

"You can't do this to her, Ren. This…"

"We're only beginning, my dear, and you're already like this? My, I wonder how you'll be able to handle what we have planned next."

Ren chuckled.

"You see, I personally believe that Isuke's vanity over her nails stems from a deeper overall vanity about her body. She is gorgeous, of course, and time and time again I've seen that body and that face of hers ensnare person after person. So I was wondering…would Inukai Isuke remain as kind and selfless as she has if there was a threat of that perfect body of hers being defiled?"

Haruki stared, visage utterly blank; her heart began to pound spasmodically even before her mind fully processed what Ren was saying.

"Your next group of siblings is significantly older than the last three. The next task should be significantly more difficult, shouldn't it? The next task is therefore to, let's say…endure the thorough…_attentions _of four of my men in exchange for your next four siblings."

Haruki said nothing, her mind strangely void of anything other than a shroud of disbelief.

_Impossible. _

It was impossible.

Ren wouldn't…not even Ren would want that.

Not even Ren would force her to…

"…you can't," Haruki heard herself saying. "You can't, Ren. It's impossible. That…R-Ren, it's not—"

"Impossible? For a slut like her, it should be no problem at all. I dare say she'll even enjoy it," Ren said, smile unwavering. "This should be a simple choice for her, really. I'll even release the four children right away, before she begins."

_No. _

Haruki shook her head, feeling something deep inside bubbling up, swelling dangerously close to the surface.

She was terrified.

The numbness, the disbelief; it was beginning to wear off, and once it was all gone, she was terrified as to what would rise in their place.

She was terrified that once the disbelief went away, she would have to understand that Isuke…that this situation—

"This isn't real," Haruki said, her voice a hoarse whisper. "You can't be doing this, Ren, I can't believe…I won't…"

She dimly registered the sound of voices coming from the screen, and heard Kensuke repeating everything she had just heard from Ren.

"Let me talk to her."

Haruki pressed a hand to her pounding temples, struggling to take in a full, deep breath.

"Please, let me talk to her, Ren. I need to tell her that she…that she can't."

"And your siblings? You'll have them die?" Ren asked, raising a brow.

Haruki shook her head again, wincing at the sudden nausea that made everything lurch around her.

"Just let me talk to her," she repeated, pleadingly. "I need to talk to her."

With a low, thoughtful hum, Ren leaned back in her chair.

"…I'm rather taken aback, my dear. But I must say, I'm rather curious, as well. Are you really going to try to convince Isuke to let your siblings die?"

When Haruki didn't respond, Ren smirked.

"Very well. A five minute phone call," she said.

Haruki felt sick, utterly sick.

She didn't know what to do. She didn't even know what she was going to say.

She just knew that right now, no matter what, she had to hear Isuke's voice.

_I have to talk to her. _

* * *

Strangely enough, Haruki's phone call ended up having the opposite of the intended effect.

As Isuke had lain on the table, listening to Kensuke speak, she had mentally apologized to the idiot and decided that she couldn't do it.

Physical pain was one thing; Isuke had the willpower and training to endure that much.

But what he was saying to her now was…

_Isuke wasn't meant to do things like this, _she had thought, straining at the chains. _Even the nails were too much for someone like me. _

Ultimately, selfishness really was part and parcel of her.

Even for that idiot, she couldn't. She wouldn't.

But then Kensuke had received a call, and had placed the phone by her ear, saying, "It's that girl. Sagae Haruki."

Now, Isuke stared at the phone blankly, further confused in her disorientation.

_Haruki…? How is she calling me?_

"…I-Isuke."

Isuke was quiet, and closed her eyes.

It really was her.

No one else's voice would ever have this kind of effect on her.

"Isuke…I-I…I'm so sorry," Haruki said, her voice soft and strained. "For all of this, I…"

It was odd.

Isuke had been the one getting her nails ripped out, and she was the one trapped here now, and yet Haruki was the one who sounded tortured.

Objectively, it was odd, but for Haruki…

_It's just like her, _she thought. _The idiot's probably in more pain than I am from just watching. _

"I'm sorry for all you had to go through, Isuke, but now…you don't have to do anymore. You can't do anymore."

Isuke listened, momentarily unable to comprehend what the other girl was telling her.

"Tell them that you can't, Isuke."

"…your siblings," Isuke said quietly. "Do you realize what you're—"

"I can't ask you to do this, Isuke," Haruki interrupted, an edge of desperation entering her voice. "No matter what. Y-you…"

Haruki's voice broke, but Isuke understood.

_She knows that I'm doing all of this for her. _

Haruki knew, and so she was trying to release her from that.

…_idiot. _

Isuke wasn't sure when or how she had changed her mind.

But at some point, as she had been talking to the other girl, it had happened, and she opened her eyes to stare up at the harsh fluorescent lights.

"Haruki," she said, finally breaking the silence. "What you did earlier today, on the beach…"

Despite everything, Isuke found herself smiling faintly at the memory.

"…Isuke has to admit that you were pretty cool," she continued, "when you stopped that stupid delinquent's punch. You came right on time."

"Isuke—"

"But you know…you shouldn't try to play the hero all the time. You may have super strength, but in the end, you're only human, too 3" she said, managing a hint of the usual playful lilt to her voice.

And, turning to Kensuke, she gave a slight shrug of her shoulders.

"…go ahead. I agree."

"Isuke, stop it. You can't. You can't, this isn't—"

"Don't come," Isuke interrupted, as Kensuke began to undo her chains. "Don't try to come here, and…do Isuke a favor and don't watch, okay?"

_An idiot like you wouldn't be able to handle it. _

The phone line suddenly went dead, and Isuke stared up at the ceiling as Kensuke pocketed the phone.

"…four hours. An hour with each of us," he said, pausing to look down at her. "I'm beginning to wonder if we hit you too hard in the head. You know what you're agreeing to, here?"

"Mmhm," Isuke replied, with her usual smile. "Four exceedingly unpleasant hours with four hideously ugly yakuza mobsters. Isuke understands completely."

It was strange, but it was only now, once she was off the phone with Haruki, that Isuke began to think about the practical effects of her choice.

_The idiotically altruistic choice is actually the more pragmatic one, for once, _she thought, rubbing at her wrists as Kensuke moved down to her ankles. _Four hours…four hours of anything is preferable to a one second bullet to the head, isn't it?_

Her mind had automatically shifted from numbness to a kind of cold, pragmatic detachment, and she glanced quickly around the room.

The chances of escaping were slim to none. There were armed men everywhere, and with Ren watching from the camera, backup would be immediate.

It was almost impossible to expect rescue from Haruki, even if she hadn't said what she had to her. Haruki didn't have the faintest idea where Isuke was (even Isuke didn't know where she was), and most of her family was still at gunpoint.

_But Mama…_

Isuke always called him at the end of each day to say goodnight. Missing one call might not set off any alarms, but with Mama already knowing about Ryo going missing, her gone from the hospital, and Haruki also out of contact…

_Even if I had refused, Ren wouldn't just let me go. Whatever she has planned last for me will probably be the worst. So if I can just delay that for as long as possible…then Mama might have the time to figure it all out. _

And if there was anyone who would be able to get Isuke out of this, it was Inukai Eisuke.

Yet, even as Isuke went over all of these pragmatic consequences in her head, she found herself looking at the camera again.

And she knew really, she had been entirely numb when she had made her choice.

She hadn't been thinking at all about any of the consequences.

She hadn't been thinking at all.

_No, that's not true, _a voice in the back of her mind told her. _You were thinking. Just about stupid things. _

Stupid things like how that idiot wouldn't be able to live normally if she let three of her precious siblings be killed. Stupid things like how hearing her voice made Isuke feel better even now, in this kind of situation. Stupid things like how if it was for that idiot's sake, then maybe…

Isuke shook her head, and with a soft, derisive laugh aimed at no one other than herself, she sank down onto the floor.

_Idiotic, pointless, utterly stupid things. _

But even as Kensuke unbuckled his belt, simultaneously fumbling with the zipper of Isuke's jacket, even as she felt swell of nausea rise inside her, she couldn't find it in herself to regret it.

* * *

Ren watched the screen, vaguely amused, as Kensuke stripped the whore of her clothing.

_It barely makes a difference anyway, _she mused, smirking, _considering how little she wears to begin with. _

In the seat beside hers, Haruki was ashen and rigid, her eyes closed, and Ren wondered if she had fainted.

But when Isuke made a noise as Kensuke forced her to take him into her mouth, Ren saw Haruki twitch at the sound, and she realized that the girl was just listening to what Isuke had told her to do.

Or, more specifically, what not to do.

"Don't watch," Isuke had said to her.

_But where would be the fun in that? _

"Kensuke seems to be enjoying himself," Ren said, smirking when she saw the way Haruki's knuckles went white. "Isuke-chan must be very good at this, even when coerced. How many men do you think she's serviced in a similar way before?"

"Ren—"

Haruki abruptly stopped herself, leaning her head in her hands and beginning to tremble.

Ren looked at the girl with some surprise.

In just that one utterance, there had been more hatred, more anguish, and more desperation than Ren had ever heard from Sagae Haruki before.

_I really am pushing her to her limits, aren't I? _she mused, smiling. _How delightful. _

Kensuke's groans got louder, and the other men began to laugh and jeer.

"Are you simply going to sit there like that for the next four hours? It will become remarkably tedious," Ren said, chuckling softly. "Why don't you just take a peek? That lovely body of hers that you must be fond of yourself is on display for everyone to see."

Haruki didn't react, and Ren stifled a sigh.

If she was going to be like that for the next four hours, _Ren _was the one who was going to get bored.

_But I don't want to shorten dear Isuke's time with the men, either. So the next trade won't be for a while. What to do…_

And, as Ren thought, an interesting idea suddenly came to her.

"…Haruki, what was it that Isuke said about the beach? Something about you arriving just in time? Did you perhaps rescue her from some close call?"

Haruki still didn't respond, and Ren decided that yes, it really would be a good idea to go with her newly forming plan.

_The girl needs some hope to make things interesting, after all. _

"You see…I must say that I'm quite touched at yet another act of selflessness from our Isuke, and I was thinking of perhaps rewarding the two of you by giving you a chance of sorts.

"How about it, my dear? If you can manage to find and get to Isuke by the end of her four hours, I will release both her and the rest of your family without requiring anything more from her."

Haruki finally stirred, and when she looked up, Ren was somewhat startled to see that her eyes were completely bloodshot.

"I would have you wear a GPS tracker, of course, and if you attempted to go to the police or gather help from those powerful friends of yours such as the Hanabusa conglomerate, both Isuke and your family would be killed immediately," Ren continued calmly.

"It will be an extraordinarily difficult task, my dear. Even if you managed to make to the building where she's being held, you'd have about two dozen yakuza hirelings to fight through. But if you feel you are up to it, you are welcome to try. Despite what your sweet Isuke-chan told you…do you still want to attempt a rescue?"

There was no hesitation.

"I'll do it. Let me try," Haruki said, eyes fixed in front of her, looking past the screens.

Ren smiled inwardly.

"Very well. Give me your hand," she said.

When Haruki complied, Ren shot in one of the same microchip trackers she used to monitor where her bodyguards always were.

"Best of luck to you, my dear."

To Ren's surprise, Haruki abruptly looked up and stared directly at the screen.

Her eyes were dark with an intensity that Ren had never seen before, and when they suddenly shifted to rest on Ren herself, she had to work to suppress a strange shudder.

"I'm going to save her, Ren. I definitely will. No matter what."

And, turning, Haruki left the car.

Ren sat in silence for some time, a slow smile spreading across her face.

_…can it be that she knows what I'm planning?_

It would certainly surprise her if she did, considering how very much of a trusting young fool her dear Haruki was.

But it hardly mattered in the end.

_Even if she does know…there's nothing she can do about it, is there?_

Though the girl would definitely try.

_Perhaps she really thinks that she can still save her._

Ren laughed.

Even after everything, Haruki remained an idealistic, naïve young fool.

Snapping open her phone, Ren dialed Kensuke's number.

On the screen, Kensuke picked it up without pausing in his activities.

"S-Sanada-sama?" he said, his breathing heavy and punctuated with low groans.

"I gave Sagae Haruki permission to try to find and rescue Isuke," Ren said, crossing her legs. "Considering the dear child's determination and her great affection for the whore, I actually don't doubt that she'll somehow make it to where you are."

Smiling, she continued, "So when she arrives, whenever that may be, I want you to move onto the final tradeoff, without waiting for any permission from the slut."

There was a pause, and on the screen Kensuke abruptly stopped moving.

"The…the final tradeoff, Sanada-sama?"

"Yes. Stab Inukai Isuke twice in the gut; once in order to release Fuyuka and once for Haruo. And finally, in exchange for the life of Haruki's mother…"

Ren's smile widened.

"Put a bullet through Inukai Isuke's head. And do make sure Haruki is in the room to watch this part happen."

* * *

"I just finished hacking into her private files this afternoon, and it's all right here: the location, the time, the people she's blackmailed, the police that she's bribed in order to keep them out of this business…everything. Even the details of what she's planning on having them…do to Inukai."

Haruki passed a trembling hand over her face.

"I just need the location for now. Th-thanks, Kenmochi."

Shiena stared up at her, eyes dark with worry.

"Are you really planning on going there by yourself?" she asked, turning in her chair. "There'll be twenty-four armed men there, you know."

Haruki nodded, getting to her feet.

"I know."

"If you'll at least let me contact Azuma, then she can go with—"

"I can't. If her men report that anyone else is with me, she'll kill them all. No outside help, Ren said. I was only able to come here because it's just an internet café. Ren probably thinks I'm trying to use the computer myself to find Isuke," Haruki said with a short, mirthless laugh.

"…wait. Then take this, at least," Shiena said, pulling a pistol from the desk drawer.

Smirking at Haruki's look of surprise, she said, "What? I'm an assassin too, you know."

Her smirk faded though, as Haruki accepted the gun, and she continued to stare up at her.

"There's really nothing I can do to help?" she said.

Haruki forced a shaky grin.

"You've helped enough, Kenmochi. Thanks. Maybe…maybe when I come back with Isuke… then we'll need your help again taking Ren down. But…but until then…"

"…then, I'll expect you to come back, Sagae. With Inukai, too. I'm holding you to that."

Haruki nodded once, and, turning away, gave one last wave before running out of the café.

She tore off her sling, chucking it into a trash bin as she ran down the sidewalk.

_Wonder if my arm's healed enough for me to punch with it. _

Gritting her teeth, Haruki ran faster.

It didn't matter. She'd use it anyway.

Haruki only vaguely recognized the address that Shiena gave her; it was by the docks, in the old factory district.

_Probably an abandoned warehouse…pretty clichéd setup, Ren, _Haruki thought, smiling humorlessly.

But whether it was warehouse, factory, apartment…even if it was a damned castle, it wouldn't make a difference.

_I have to save her. _

She ducked into an alleyway, cutting behind apartments to get there faster.

A dilapidated old building awaited her at the address she had been given, and Haruki cocked the gun as she circled around to the door.

The air was heavy with humidity, and utterly silent.

_This isn't right. _

Haruki smashed down old wooden door, sprinting up the steps three at a time.

In the single room at the top, three suited men lounged around on peeling leather sofas, all watching a small TV screen in the middle of the room.

They looked up when she came in, and the first grinned as he got to his feet.

"That was fast. Sanada-sama said you would be here soon, but damn…gotta say I'm impressed," he said, smirking.

Haruki's head began to pound, and even as the man spoke her mind raced to put together what had happened.

"Can't blame you, really, considering you probably don't know what the hell is going on, but all your secrets have been spilled, girl. Your girlfriend's little spy Ryo ratted you guys out for a pile of cash. Not that he got to use any of that in the end, considering he got killed right away, but…"

_Ren knew. She knew that Kenmochi had hacked into her database, and so she knew that I'd go to Shiena. So this place…it—_

"It's a dead-end," the second man said, shrugging his shoulders. "A trick. Better find a new way to find where your girlfriend is, or you'll run out of time."

"Or don't," the third man said, snickering. "I think our buddies would prefer it if you took as much time as possible."

And for the first time, Haruki looked at what they were watching on the TV screen.

"She's fucking gorgeous, your girlfriend. Tits, ass, hips, waist, legs, and face; she's literally got everything. Wish I could be there right now."

"Doesn't seem like she's enjoying it much, though, does it? Hey, Sagae…does the bitch moan like a whore for you when you fuck her?"

Haruki didn't realize she had moved, at first.

But in the next second she was on the ground, fingers wrapping around the third man's neck as she pointed the pistol in his face.

"Where is she?"

She was dimly aware that the other two men had gotten to their feet, drawing their own guns and pointing them at her.

Her vision darkened, narrowing on the one man that was choking underneath her.

She let off the pressure for a moment, and he coughed violently, wheezing with every breath.

"Where is she?" Haruki repeated, and she sounded unrecognizable even to her own ears.

Hatred, violence, rage-they darkened her voice, roughening the sound to an animalistic snarl.

"Where the _fuck _is she?"

The man sputtered, face mottled with anger.

"Fuck off," he rasped. "Give it up. It's too damn late for her, and you know it. And who says she needs rescuing, anyway? Sooner or later she's gonna start to feel it, and by the time the third guy starts fucking her, she just might be panting and begging for it like the slut she is. And when that happ—"

Gripping his collar, she lifted his body up off the ground.

And she pulled the trigger.

The other two men reacted instantly, cursing as they unloaded their weapons.

Every single bullet hit the body of their friend, whose body Haruki still held up in front of her.

Pivoting to the side, she chucked the corpse at the first man, who stumbled backwards under its weight.

In that split second, with her side exposed to the second man, Haruki felt something white-hot graze her shoulder.

She unloaded three rounds into the second man before slamming her knee down onto the fallen first man.

"Tell me where she is," she said, wrenching his arm back until she heard a crack.

The man howled, struggling violently underneath her.

"_Fuck _you!" he gasped, writhing as Haruki tightened her grip.

In the background, Haruki could hear the sounds from the TV, and they somehow seemed to get louder and louder with every second.

_There's no time for this. I have to save her. I don't have time. I have to save her. _

With that mantra echoing in her mind, she forced the man's hand down onto the ground and violently bent his finger back, crushing it under her shoe.

"Tell me where she is, or every finger will break just like this one," she stated, forcing herself to ignore his shrieks of pain.

_I have to do this. I have to save her. _

Tears ran down the man's face, and he choked out, "The top floor of the old Nighton hotel in the commercial district. It's only five fucking minutes from the hotel you two were staying at. I swear, that's where they're keeping her, so please, let me go! Don't kill me!"

For a moment, at the desperate pleading in his voice, Haruki hesitated, her grip on the gun faltering.

And in that moment, the man wrenched his other hand from behind his back and slammed it into Haruki's side.

She shot him immediately, firing one bullet straight through his forehead.

But she felt a sudden, strange warmth, and she looked down to see a switchblade sticking out of her side.

_He stabbed me, _she realized numbly, staggering to her feet. _Just now, that wasn't a punch, it was…_

Whether because of shock or the adrenaline pumping in her veins, Haruki couldn't feel anything other than a sticky wetness from the blood that oozed from the wound.

The graze on her shoulder from the bullet the second man had fired at her hurt more, stinging persistently as she stumbled to lean against the couch.

If she pulled the knife out now, she could end up doing more damage, and the bleeding would be worse, much worse. But she couldn't keep going with a knife in her side.

_The hospital. I need to go to the hospital, _she thought dully.

A sharp, quickly muffled cry came from the TV screen, and Haruki looked up dazedly.

Isuke…Isuke was being…

_…what the hell am I doing?_

There was no time for this.

The hospital? Even if Ren let her get near one, there wouldn't be enough time.

Forcing herself fully to her feet, Haruki gripped the handle of the knife.

_You have to save her. _

There was another sound from the TV, followed by laughter; tightening her grip on the handle, Haruki jerked the blade out.

The instant, searing pain made her drop the knife, and she dropped down onto one knee, gasping.

Through watery eyes, she looked up at the three dead mobsters.

Their clothes were made of cotton; it she cut them up into strips with the knife and then tied them up, she could use them as makeshift bandages.

Five minutes later, throwing all of their weapons and extra ammo into one of their bags and slinging it over her shoulder, Haruki ran out of the building, studiedly ignoring the burning pain in her side.

_The hotel. The old Nighton hotel…it's literally right behind the one we were in. Ren…Ren purposefully made me waste all of this time. _

Temporarily forcing down her anger, Haruki continued sprinting, stopping once she reached the sidewalk.

The men had had money in their wallets that she could use; waving an arm, Haruki flagged a taxi down.

Curling up in the backseat of the car, Haruki cradled her head in her hands and shuddered violently.

She couldn't think. If she thought about it too much, then she wouldn't be able to…

_You just have to save her. That's it. That's all that you need to think about. _

Pressing her forehead to the glass, she stared out the window at the quickly approaching lights of the hotel she and Isuke had been staying in.

"Go…go around the back," Haruki told the driver, staring warily at the parking lot where Ren's car was still probably parked. The woman would know where she was anyway, with the tracker, but she didn't want to have to see her, after she had fallen right into that trap.

The driver obeyed, and as the taxi rolled around the back of their hotel, Haruki saw the bright red of a Murcielago parked in the lot.

"I'll walk from here," she said, handing the man his money.

She wasn't about to ask the driver to pull up right in front of the abandoned Nighton hotel, and she wasn't about to storm it from the front, either.

_Twenty-four guys. There were just three guys back there, and I'm already—_

"…Haruki?"

She looked up to see Inukai Eisuke emerging from the Murcielago she had seen.

And she felt her heart begin to pound once again.

_What…what is Isuke's…why is he—_

"It _is_ you," Eisuke said, approaching her rapidly.

His entire face was filled with a relief that slowly faded as he got closer and closer to her.

"I-Inukai…Inukai-san," Haruki managed, her throat suddenly feeling painfully tight.

Isuke's parent was here, right here, while Isuke was…

_He must have come looking for her. _

"Isuke wasn't answering her phone, and when I tried calling this hotel, they said that you two were both not in the room," Eisuke said, his brow knitting in concern. "I thought I'd swing by just to make sure that you were both all right, especially since Ryo suddenly dropped out of contact."

Haruki couldn't meet his gaze.

"W-we have to get out of the open, Inukai-san," she said, glancing around the mostly empty lot.

"…let's talk over there, then."

Eisuke suddenly looked pale, and Haruki wondered if she was really that transparent.

Once they were hidden in a narrow alleyway, Eisuke abruptly turned to face her.

"Where's my daughter?"

His voice was as cool as it always was, but even Haruki could detect the undercurrent of panic that ran through it.

She stared down at the ground, shaking.

"Sh-she…she's being held in the top floor of the old Nighton hotel. It's…it's because of me, Inukai-san. It's all…it's all my fault."

She told him everything, her words bubbling out rapidly in a stream of near-incoherent stammering, and her speech only became more and more feverish as she went on.

The entire time, Inukai Eisuke didn't give any kind of reaction at all.

His face was completely blank, and when Haruki finally broke off, he very slowly leaned back against the wall behind him.

"…so…according to what you're saying, if I went in now to try and save her, Ren's men would kill her right away?" he asked, his speech oddly uneven and clipped.

Haruki managed a nod.

"…my daughter…is being raped right now by the yakuza…and there's nothing I can do to stop it?"

His voice finally cracked, and he looked down at her with a sudden, dark intensity.

"She's being violated because your family was abducted. She's being hurt right now because—because of you!"

His hands went down onto her shoulders, shoving her against the wall, and Haruki couldn't help but gasp in pain as her side throbbed at the impact.

Eisuke jumped at the sound, jerking his hands back as though burned.

"I…I'm sorry," he said immediately, raking a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, and what I said was…I—"

"What you said was the truth," Haruki interrupted, her voice hoarse. "It's true, but I swear to you, Inukai-san, I'm going to get her out of there."

Eisuke looked lost, then, lost, afraid, and completely unlike himself.

"What else does Sanada Ren have planned for her? What else does she need to do in order to free the rest of your family?" he demanded, his hands splayed against the wall as if in search of support.

"…Ren said that if I reach her by the end of four hours, then she'll let her go without any more requirements, but…but I know she's lying."

Hearing herself voice her own suspicion made her feel strangely ill, as if she hadn't acknowledged the truth until now.

"Ren…I know her, and there's no way it would be that simple."

"…she's planning on killing her in the end, isn't she?" Eisuke said, voicing Haruki's own thoughts, and she nodded once.

"I think so," she breathed, not trusting her voice to get any louder.

_I had always known…from the beginning, that this was…_

"But I'm going to get her out of there. I…I promise you, I'll bring Isuke out alive."

Eisuke stared at her uncertainly, fear and grief for his child lining his face and making him look far older than he was.

"And I? Am I supposed to just sit here, waiting for you to bring her back?"

Haruki shook her head.

"Isuke…Isuke told me once that you're skilled with sniper rifles."

At the man's answering nod, Haruki continued, "Knowing Ren…she'll want to make things as painful as possible. And she wouldn't have let me go without a purpose. When…when I reach the top floor, they might try to…to do something to Isuke in front of me. If that happens—"

"I'll kill them," Eisuke said, slowly beginning to resemble his usual self as he straightened up. "By the time you reach the top floor, there'll be no more danger to her, right?"

"Other than the guys in that room, yeah," Haruki replied. "If…if I can manage to get to her and make sure that no one can kill her from outside, and you kill the people who are with her in the room, then…then she should be…"

Shaking her head, Haruki amended, "She will be safe. And if you could secure for us some kind of escape route…like a copter, maybe, then…"

Eisuke stared at her for a long time, eyes fixed and unwavering.

"And your family?"

Haruki looked away, feeling her stomach clench painfully inside her.

"I can't ask you to worry about that," she forced herself to say.

"…my first and top priority will be my daughter. But…my daughter also chose to go through all of this for the sake of your family. For your sake."

Eisuke looked down.

"And so…so I'll be sending some of my associates to surround your home and the hospital. If possible…then immediately after Isuke is safe, then they will rush in to rescue your remaining family members, hopefully before Ren has time to figure out what is happening and react," he said, speaking slowly and deliberately.

Haruki nodded, bowing her head.

"Th…thank you, Inukai-san. Really, I…I don't deserve that, but thank you."

Eisuke was silent for a few moments; finally, he lowered himself into a slight bow of his own.

"I…I promise to do whatever I can to help your family. But…I will also hold you to your promise, Sagae Haruki. You…you have to keep it. Please."

Haruki nodded, swallowing hard.

"I will."

* * *

Kensuke sank down slowly into his chair, eyes fixed on the so-called assassin named Inukai Isuke.

It was halfway through the second hour, and he could see her will slowly beginning to erode.

Those pretty amber eyes, mocking and prideful at first, were now dull with exhaustion and pain, and that usual smile of hers, so poisonously sweet, was missing entirely.

_Wonder where that girlfriend of hers is, _he mused, buckling his belt again. _Shouldn't she be swooping in the hero sometime soon?_

Though, he realized, if she did, he would have to end it then and there.

Kensuke frowned, rubbing his forehead.

That was fucked up, even for Ren.

Kensuke didn't feel bad about what he had done to Isuke, but he did feel uncomfortable at the prospect of what he was going to do to her in the future.

_She's going through all this shit…doesn't feel right to just end it like that. _

At least the girlfriend would have her family safe and sound, but…

_I'm pretty sure that if she could, Ren would probably have killed all of them too, anyway. _

But it'd take a shitload of money and work to cover up the deaths of an entire family, most of whom were children.

And money, Kensuke knew, was a commodity that Ren for once didn't have an endless supply of.

The Hanabusa conglomerate had been suddenly screwing with the prices of Ren's stocks over the past few days, and they knew it had something to do with what Isuke had been planning with the conglomerate's young heiress.

If possible, Kensuke knew that Ren wanted to avoid killing anyone other than Isuke herself.

_So in the end, you singlehandedly saved the lives of the entire Sagae family, _he thought, staring at Isuke and wondering how the girl would react if he told her all of this out loud.

"Hey, Kensuke. Sanada-sama just called and said that we can take the slut more than one at a time now," Junji said, grinning at him as he walked into the room. "Gonna help myself, if you don't mind. Why don't you give her another go, too?"

Kensuke frowned, gaze flicking back to Isuke on the ground.

For all her willpower and pride, she was still physically just a nineteen year old girl. If they were too rough with her…

"…I'll pass. Just make sure you keep it under control. If she dies before that girlfriend of hers gets here, Sanada-sama will have all of you fucking castrated," he muttered.

To his surprise, Isuke's eyes suddenly refocused, shifting to rest on him, and after a moment he realized why.

"…yeah, that's right. Your girlfriend's on her way here. Think she'll make it, against all odds?" he asked, staring down at her.

Isuke didn't reply, but her expression darkened, and Kensuke recognized the emotion on her face as that of worry.

_She's getting fucking gang-raped, and she's spending her time worrying about that girl. _

On the other hand, he hardly knew what Sagae was going through in order to get here.

The two of them trying so hard for each other…it was pretty fucking cute, wasn't it?

Kensuke smirked, turning to his briefcase and popping it open.

_And I'll be ending it all with a bullet through her skull, making it all for nothing. Really, really fucked up. _

He pulled out one of the syringes in the briefcase, testing the pump before turning back to Isuke.

To his men, he waved a hand.

"Get off of her for a second. I need to do something."

And kneeling beside the girl, he said, "Isuke-chan. This here's a drug that's gonna make you feel a whole lot better."

Manabu snickered, pulling out of her and grinning.

"Good idea, Kensuke. It's not as fun if she's all pissy like this," he said.

Kensuke ignored him, focusing on the way Isuke looked up to glare at him, eyes once again clear with hatred and anger.

_…this has got nothing to do with wanting to make this more pleasurable for all these other fuckers, _he thought as he grabbed Isuke's wrist.

The girl convulsed as he injected the drug, and he smiled grimly her eyes momentarily closed.

_If those eyes of yours are glazed over from the effects of the drug, it'll be a lot easier on me to pull the trigger, Inukai Isuke. Sorry, but that's the way it is. _

Hearing his phone go off, he stood and turned away.

Seeing the caller ID, he paled.

"S-Sanada-sama? Is everything all right?" he said, uneasily looking at the camera.

"Everything's fine, Morita-san. I've just called to inform you that Haruki has reached the building. It seems she somehow managed to find the place after all. I told you that girl had remarkable determination," Ren said, her voice silky and amused. "The tracker shows that she's trying to get in through the side entrance. Send your men there, and let's see how much that determination can really do."

Kensuke nodded, snapping the phone closed and turning back to his men.

He was somewhat relieved, in a weird way, to get rid of some of the guys. They'd really kill the girl at the rate they were going.

"Junji, Manabu, Yamato, Hikaru…get the fuck off of her and go down to the side entrance. Her girlfriend's here. Go and give her a warm welcome," he said.

The men protested immediately, and so Kensuke casually picked up his gun and shot Manabu in the shoulder.

Ignoring his shrieks of pain and rage, he turned to the other three.

"These are orders from Sanada-sama herself. Should I tell her that you guys were too busy fucking your new toy to obey her orders?"

That got them up fast enough, and Kensuke added, "There are already fifteen guys down there; I'll tell them to go to the side entrance, so go and get rid of her together."

He stared down at Isuke as they left, taking in her shallow breathing and trembling.

The drug was starting to kick in, relaxing the muscles in her body, but those damned eyes of hers were still alert, focused on the backs of the men as they left the room.

"…nineteen men, and more up here. You think your girlfriend can handle that?" he said, putting his gun back down.

Isuke didn't reply, but he could see her body tense again.

Kensuke shook his head, grimacing as he looked at his gun. The gun he'd used to blow this girl's brains out, even if her girlfriend somehow managed to make it up here alive.

_Really, really fucked up, _he thought, and even he felt the faintest twinge of something that might've resembled guilt.

* * *

Haruki heard the men coming down the stairs and counted somewhere around fifteen of them.

And, bringing the knife to her hand, she sliced through the skin, biting down on the cloth she had stuffed into her mouth as pain flooded her senses.

_Ren will know if I take the chip out, _she thought feverishly as she dug into her flesh with the knife. _I haven't broken any of her damned rules, I'm right where she wants me to be, and I didn't remove it to go get help, so she won't be angry, but she'll know, and she'll tell her lackeys over the phone. _

Which meant she only had a few minutes, tops, to do what she was planning.

Forcing the chip out with the tip of the blade, Haruki took in a shuddering breath.

And, blocking out the throbbing, she quickly tied her handkerchief around her bloodied hand, dropped the blinking chip onto the ground, and jumped out the window.

Sprinting around the building, she made her way to the back entrance.

_Fifteen men there, which means that there are only about eight or nine left elsewhere in the building, _she thought, wrenching open the door and bounding up the stairs.

They would probably be alerted within minutes that she was using another entrance instead; she had to get to the top floor as fast as she could.

When she reached the fourth floor she heard voices, and, peeking around the corner, saw four men coming down the stairs.

"Fuck Kensuke and fuck Ren," one of them was muttering, rubbing at his shoulder. "Why the fuck do we have to go down, anyway?"

"I'm beginning to think Kensuke feels a little bad for her, or something," another said, shrugging. "He wouldn't fuck her more than once, and even when he did, he was really damn quick about it."

"Oh, I feel plenty bad for her too," another man said, laughing. "Just not bad enough to resist that body of hers. Never fucked anyone like her before."

"Tell me about it," the last said. "And so tight and hot inside. Felt like I was fucking a virgin. Isn't she supposed to be some slut?"

They came closer and closer, and Haruki pulled the gun from the bag.

Once they rounded the corner to go down the next flight of stairs, they'd see her.

So she had to move before then.

Making sure her body was protected behind the wall, Haruki peeked up and fired.

There was a cry and the thump of a body hitting the ground.

"What the—"

She fired again, bringing the second man down, but the last two had spotted her.

Haruki ducked down behind the wall as they shot at her, hearing the bullets ricochet off the steel and embed in the concrete.

"That you, Sagae?" one of them called, pausing in his shots. "You here to rescue your girlfriend?"

"Not bad, getting this far," the other said with a chuckle. "But you won't be gettin' any further, unfortunately."

"…you gonna just keep hiding back there?" the first said. "While poor Isuke-chan is getting fucked raw?"

His voice was suddenly closer, and Haruki reacted even before she saw his foot come down beside her.

Whipping her leg out, she sent him sprawling to the ground.

The second was right there behind him, and in that second, they both raised their guns.

Haruki shot the first on the ground even as she lunged at the second, smashing her fist into his elbow and forcing his arm to the side as he fired.

She felt something hot tear into her shoulder, and she bit back a curse as she tackled the man to the ground.

The man was already wounded, with a bleeding bullet wound in his shoulder, and even in her own weakened state Haruki was able to overwhelm him.

She tightened her grip on his throat until she felt his windpipe collapse underneath her fingers, and only let go once he stopped struggling completely.

Haruki forced herself to her feet immediately, staggering up the stairs.

It hurt.

He had shot her in the shoulder, where the graze had already been.

_I think the bullet passed through, which is good, but…_

Her entire side felt like it was on fire, and she could feel blood seeping through her makeshift bandages.

Her broken arm ached, and she was pretty sure she had really screwed it up even more when she used it to punch the guy just now.

Shaking her head rapidly, Haruki continued up the stairs, clutching at the railing for support.

_It doesn't matter. I have to get to her. _

Isuke was here, on the top floor. Just a few more flights of stairs, and she'd be there.

_I have to save her. _

In that moment, nothing else mattered.

* * *

"The only way to reach this floor is through the elevator. As soon as those doors open, and that girl comes out, riddle her with holes."

The five men who were left on the top floor with Kensuke nodded, loading their weapons.

Leaning back in his chair, Kensuke shook his head and laughed.

_I don't believe this. _

She had tricked them into going to the wrong entrance to intercept her.

_Thought she was just poor, dumb muscle…guess I was wrong. _

But it wouldn't matter in the end anyway.

The fifteen men down on the bottom floor were on their way up, and so even if—

A loud crash cut into his thoughts, and he immediately got to his feet.

"...don't just stand there! Go check what the hell that was!"

His men obeyed, running out into the hallway.

There was a sudden, startled shriek of pain, instantly followed by the sound of gunshots and shouts.

Kensuke stalked out into the hall to see his men dropping like flies.

And he stared, aghast, when he saw Sagae Haruki in their midst.

_…is that really Sagae Haruki?_

There was nothing of that grinning, relaxed girl that Kensuke remembered in the person that drove her knee into Hiro's gut and emptied bullets into Akira's skull.

She mowed them down like a machine, not stopping despite the bullets that tore at her own body and the punches his men threw at her as they struggled desperately against the garrote that tightened around their necks.

_No, not a machine. _

There was a desperation to her movements, and wild, unrestrained rage that kept her going despite the blood and wounds that should've dropped her ages ago.

She was like an animal, not a machine, and that, Kensuke thought, was far more frightening.

He turned, moving quickly back into the room and digging through his bag for his knife.

_Two stabs…and one bullet to the head. _

He turned to look at Isuke.

She was seated on the ground, leaning back against the wall that his men had shoved her against before they had left.

She was utterly unresponsive when he walked up to her, and those eyes, to his relief, were glazed over and dull.

The effects of the drug had really addled her brain, and for the past hour she had been like a limp doll, not reacting to anything that the men did to her.

_She's almost dead from exhaustion anyway, _he thought, _as well as totally out of it from the drug. It'd be better to put her outta her misery now. _

He stared down at the knife, brow furrowing slightly.

And, kneeling beside her, he shoved the hilt against her gut, positioning his body to hide hers from the camera and make it look like he had really stabbed her.

_I'm a complete asshole, _he thought. _But even I've got damned standards. Not going to gut her now just for the sake of Ren's shits and giggles. _

Pressing the barrel of his gun to her temple, he sighed.

_Unfortunately for you, girl, my standards aren't high enough to stop me from killing you. Sorry. _

But for the briefest of moments, he hesitated.

That was all it took.

In that briefest of moments, right before Kensuke pulled the trigger, Inukai Eisuke fired from a building hundreds of feet away.

* * *

Haruki staggered into the room just as she saw the man inside scream, something tearing into his arm and shredding the muscles and skin as it ripped clean through.

It was Eisuke who shot the bullet. It had to be.

The man stumbled, picking his gun up with his other hand.

Haruki cleared the room in a second, sending the man crashing to the ground with a kick to the side.

And on the floor, the man wheezed out a laugh.

"Well done, Sagae. Not fucking bad. Maybe it'll all be worth it in the end for you two after all," he said. And he smirked as another sniper rifle bullet tore through the window and killed him.

Haruki turned for a second to the camera behind her, smashing it to the ground and shooting it to pieces.

The camera was gone, the men were dead, she had shot the elevator's cord off so the rest of them wouldn't be able to reach this floor.

All the barriers were gone.

And so Haruki finally was able to turn, and she could see nothing but Isuke, sitting there beside the wall.

She stumbled towards her, pain, anger, everything forgotten as she sunk down onto her knees beside the other girl.

She fumbled for her wrist, fingers trembling violently as she took Isuke's cold hand in her own and felt for her pulse.

It was there.

It was faint but it was there, and Haruki choked out a sigh of something that couldn't yet be relief.

She was alive.

She was alive, but…

"I…Isuke," she breathed.

Her amber eyes were dull and empty, her face void of any emotion.

And when Haruki reached out to touch her cheek, the other girl didn't react at all, still staring straight ahead.

Haruki felt something twisting inside of her, worse than anything she had felt that entire night.

"Isuke…please…"

They had to get out of there.

Ren wouldn't just stand by after Haruki had done all of this, and the men would eventually somehow find a way up even without the elevator.

They had to get out of there, Haruki _knew _that, but—

_I can't. _

Haruki couldn't move. Not like this.

"Isuke, it's me. I…I'm here," she stammered, brushing her hand gently over her friend's cheek. "I'm here, and…and I…"

Haruki broke off, gazing at the other girl.

The adrenaline was finally beginning to wear off , the panic, desperation, and near-hysteria suddenly leaving her in the emptiness of that room.

And she felt hollow as she stared at Isuke, drawing the other girl in close against her chest.

"…I'm sorry," she finally said, shaking. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't...I can't ever say it enough. Isuke, you…you were right, you know? I'm not some superhero, and I…I'm just a stupid, weak, pathetic human, and I couldn't even stop them from—"

Her voice broke, and she clutched weakly at the other girl.

"I'm sorry. But Isuke, you were the one who told me to be selfish, right? I-I know it hurts, and I know you've been through hell and you're tired and…and you want to rest, but Isuke, pl-please…I'm going to be selfish, okay?"

She tightened her grip on the other girl's hands, swallowing hard.

"I'm going to selfish, so please…please come back to me, Isuke. Y-you have to be okay. You have to. There…th-there's so much I need to tell you, and so much that I need to do for you, and if you go now I don't know what I…I need…"

Haruki couldn't speak, her throat painfully tight and constricting around her words.

And so, leaning down, she brought a hand gently to Isuke's face and kissed her.

It was clumsy, abrupt, and desperate, and Haruki trembled violently even as gripped her fingers with her other hand and pulled the girl closer to her.

It was stupid, hopelessly naïve in its intention to somehow rouse the other girl.

But as Haruki moved to pull away, she felt the briefest, weakest squeeze at her fingers.

And when she opened her eyes, Isuke's were just a little bit clearer, a hint of their usual focus returning to them.

Recognition sparked in their depths.

Haruki gazed down at her, terrified of even speaking.

She felt a sudden, weak tug, and she looked down to see Isuke's other hand pressed against her shirt, clutching at the fabric.

"…I told you…not to come," she breathed, and her pupils dilated as she stared dazedly up at the ceiling. "I-idiot…never…listening to me."

Haruki swallowed convulsively, still not trusting herself to speak.

Running a shaking hand along Isuke's jaw, she looked intently down at those amber eyes.

And she watched as they slowly returned to clarity, watched as they drifted down to meet Haruki's.

"…but you…came anyway. And…right on time, again," she murmured, tightening her grip on Haruki's shirt.

"I…I didn't," Haruki finally said, her voice hoarse and strained. "You're…I…I didn't get here on time at all."

Isuke responded with the faintest of smiles, a ghost of her usual ones.

"Isuke's alive. I think…that counts as just in time," she said.

She looked up at Haruki again, directly, and something inside Haruki broke.

All the terror, panic, pain, and anger; everything she had done for the past few hours had all been leading up to this moment.

And Isuke was alive.

_She's alive, and she…she's going to be okay. She has to be okay. _

Haruki crumpled, wrapping her arms tightly around the other girl and closing her eyes.

Isuke gave a weak laugh, and Haruki felt her hand brush against Haruki's cheek.

"…idiot. When Isuke told you to cry…didn't mean…about dumb things like this."

When Haruki opened her eyes, she finally managed a crooked smile as she looked down at the other girl.

"We…we don't have a lot of time. We have to get you out of here, Isuke. Hold…hold onto me, okay?" she said, draping her jacket carefully over Isuke's shoulders.

Isuke nodded slowly, her arms encircling Haruki's neck.

"I asked Inukai-san to prepare an escape route for us, so hopefully, with any luck, something should be here soon. If not, then—"

"Haruki…you're hurt."

Haruki looked down in surprise to see Isuke staring at her body, eyes moving from wound to wound.

"Ah, it's nothing major," Haruki said, forcing a laugh. "Don't worry about it. I'm going to check if there's a helicopter—"

"Nothing major? I-idiot, this is…"

"Hey," Haruki said, smiling softly. "Just worry about yourself. Isn't that what Inukai Isuke told me to do?"

"Inukai Isuke…became a complete idiot the moment she met you," Isuke replied, frowning faintly as she leaned her head tiredly into Haruki's chest. "I don't know what she would do or say anymore."

Haruki chuckled and placed a foot on the ground to push herself up.

In the next second, a sudden dizzying wave of nausea overwhelmed her, and she had to lean back against the wall to keep from crashing back down to the ground.

As she stood there, shaking, she realized what was happening.

The adrenaline, the fear, the anger…it had all been feeding her willpower, keeping her body going out of sheer determination.

But everything had a breaking point, and now Haruki's body…

_I think it reached it a few hours ago, _she thought with a weak laugh.

"Haruki," Isuke was saying, countenance dark with worry as she looked up at her. "Put me down, idiot. You…you can't carry me like this. You—"

She broke off, going even whiter than she already was, and Haruki followed her gaze to the blood that was soaking through her shirt.

It was coming from more than her side now.

Haruki knew she had been shot more than once, and with the beating she had gotten as she made her way here, all the wounds had been exacerbated.

Her vision swam, and the world seemed to spin, but Haruki gritted her teeth and forced herself to stay upright.

She couldn't pass out here. If she did, that'd be it.

"I-Isuke…do you see anything outside at all? Isuke's mama…said he'd prepare…"

Pain flooded back to her, and she cut herself off, leaning heavily against the wall.

"Th-there…there's a helicopter, but it's still a long way off, and I don't know if it's coming here," Isuke said, turning back from the window. "Haruki, your side, the blood, it's—"

"It's fine," Haruki interrupted, forcing another grin. "I'm fine. The helicopter…even if it's not for us, we have to get to the roof, Isuke. Isuke's mama is the one who shot the sniper rifle, so he should be watching us right now. But unless we get to the roof, there's no way anything can reach us."

She staggered forward, ignoring the way every torn muscle and every broken bone screamed in protest.

There was one old wooden door, and Haruki knew that one had to lead to the roof.

The doorknob turned, but the door wouldn't budge.

"Must be jammed," Haruki muttered, frowning. "It's an old place, after all. S-sorry, Isuke, but I'm going to put you down for just one second, okay?"

"You never had to pick me up in the first place," Isuke mumbled, but Haruki noticed how she stumbled as soon as she touched the ground.

_She went through torture these past few hours; her body...it's not safe for her yet. I can't waste time here. _

She turned to the door.

"Haruki—"

Rearing back, Haruki slammed her body against the door, blocking out the burning pain that shot through her.

When she rammed into it again, she felt her wounds open up, the blood warm as it oozed down her skin.

The third time, she heard a crack, and briefly wondered to herself whether it came from the door or her.

_Probably both, _she mused with a faint laugh; and then, on the fourth try, the door finally gave way, the old wood splintering as she crashed through.

Her vision darkened as she crouched on the ground, abruptly seized by violent, wheezing coughs.

Seeing her hand come away bloody, Haruki grimaced and hastily wiped it on her already stained shirt as Isuke came through the doorway and crouched down beside her.

"You're an _idiot_," the other girl said, glaring down at her, and Haruki couldn't help but laugh, ridiculously and inexplicably pleased by the familiar sight.

_No…no, actually, it's easily explainable, _she thought, as she pushed herself up to her feet again.

"I…I want things to go back to normal again, Isuke-sama," she said, and winced when her voice came out in a painful rasp. "I…I want to get out of here…and for everything…to go back to the way it was for us."

"...it will, you absolute idiot," Isuke said, taking Haruki's arm and draping it over her shoulders. "It will, so just lean on me for support, and we'll get up the stairs that way, okay?"

Haruki could hear the undercurrent of panic in her voice, and smiled slightly as she sagged against the other girl.

"…you…you can barely walk yourself, Isuke…" she said, her vision hazy and her mind feeling strangely clouded.

"I can walk better than you can, so stop talking and keep walking," Isuke replied, casting her a dark, troubled look.

_Guess I look pretty bad…I sure feel pretty bad, _Haruki thought, stumbling slightly as she missed a step. _Isuke…Isuke's exhausted too, though. I can't…I can't do this to her. _

"I…I want things to go back to normal," she repeated dazedly. "With Isuke-sama back to her usual self, and…and Isuke…"

"Shut _up_," Isuke insisted, her pace quickening slightly. "Stop…stop talking like you're going to die. Everything will go back to normal, and you'll be right there, like always, so stop it. We're almost there, Haruki."

The second door opened with only minimal effort, and they finally made it up.

The night air was hot and muggy, and they both collapsed as soon as they stepped out into it.

Haruki stared up at the sky, watching as the helicopter flew closer and closer.

_Something…something's wrong. _

"Haruki…Haruki, there's another helicopter coming behind that first one."

Haruki's body moved before her mind could react, and she forced Isuke backwards, back to the stairway.

"Go down a few steps, and don't come up until I open the door," she said, and slammed the door shut before Isuke could reply.

Ignoring the rattling of the doorknob behind her and the banging from the door, Haruki held the door shut and looked up as the first helicopter slowly descended onto the roof.

Sanada Ren stepped out of the copter, smiling as she waved at her.

A silver knife gleamed in her other hand, and she walked briskly across the rooftop, stopping right in front of Haruki.

"You didn't try to shoot me," Ren said, looking somewhat surprised. "It seems you're both more resourceful and smarter than you appear, my dear."

"You wouldn't come here without at least five bodyguards. They'd blow me to pieces if I even tried to grab the gun," Haruki replied, keeping her voice as level as she could.

This woman was responsible for everything. This woman had held her family at gunpoint. This woman had tried to kill Isuke.

_This woman is still trying to kill Isuke, _she reminded herself.

She couldn't act rashly. Not when Ren still had the upper hand.

"It seems as though your family has escaped entirely," Ren said, smirking. "I do wonder how you managed that while you still had the tracker in you, but…you have proved yourself quite remarkable today. I congratulate you."

Looking past her, Ren continued, "Is Isuke-chan behind that door? I'm rather surprised that she isn't dead yet, really, with all the drugs and abuse they put her through. Not to mention the stab wounds."

Haruki frowned slightly in confusion at the mention of stab wounds, but said nothing as Ren continued, "Still…I did make a promise, didn't I? And even though I really had no intention of keeping it, since Kensuke is dead and I can see Inukai Eisuke coming in that helicopter over there, I suppose I don't have much of a choice anymore."

Ren's smile widened.

"I came over here simply for the last trade, my dear Haruki. You see…Isuke-chan technically did make the trade for every single last one of your siblings…but the last trade for your mother never really went through. She was supposed to take a bullet in the head, but Kensuke failed me in that regard."

Twirling the knife between her fingers, Ren cocked her head to the side and stared at Haruki.

"I came here to finish the job with Isuke. But since you're in the way, and you're safely on the rooftop with Eisuke a few minutes away, I was thinking that maybe you could take her place, my dear. Of course, since you are my sweet pet, I would never shoot you in the head. Just one stab wound, for your mother. Either that, or…you can move aside, and let me get to Isuke."

Eisuke was coming, but there was nothing he could do from the helicopter; even if there was, he'd overpowered by the sheer number of Ren's men in her helicopter.

Ren had lost, and she was angry. She had come here to take her anger out on someone, and it would either be Haruki or…

"You already know how I'm going to answer, don't you?" Haruki said. "I won't let you touch her."

Ren's smile twisted.

"I thought you'd say something like that," she said, and calmly plunged the knife into Haruki's stomach.

There was no pain; or maybe there was, and Haruki just couldn't feel the extra bit the knife caused when the rest of her body was already flooded with it.

But her legs did suddenly give out from under her, and as Ren wrenched the blade out, Haruki soundlessly slumped down onto the ground.

"Goodbye, my dear. Thanks to this little fiasco, it seems I'll have to disappear for some time. Even if you don't die here, I doubt we'll ever see each other again. You were quite the entertaining little pet, especially tonight, even while you were fighting for Inukai Isuke's sake. Now I must be going, before Eisuke gets too close…I wouldn't want to waste any more time with a skirmish with him."

Haruki watched as Ren turned, throwing one last smile over her shoulder before getting back onto her helicopter.

And she watched as the helicopter rose back into the air, flying off and away.

It was only when the chopper was a good distance away that Haruki finally moved away from the door, letting Isuke get through and onto the rooftop.

"Haruki!"

It hurt.

_Really, really hurts. Everything, it all…_

She could hear Isuke saying something to her, voice strangely thin and breathless with panic.

_I wish…I wish I could tell her to calm down. She's…she should be worrying about herself. _

Haruki turned her head slightly, frowning as she remembered something.

Reaching out, she ran a hand gently over Isuke's stomach, smiling when she found it smooth and unmarred. She let her gaze drift over the rest of her friend's body.

There were no stab wounds.

_Wonder what Ren was talking about…but it doesn't matter, anyway, as long as Isuke's okay. _

Her body…had really reached its absolute limit.

She gotten Isuke up onto the roof, had made sure Ren didn't hurt her, and now Eisuke was coming, his silver hair visible in the window as his helicopter drew closer.

_Just…just a little bit longer. _

If she could just hang on until Eisuke landed, she would be sure that Isuke was safe.

Haruki tried to focus on what Isuke was saying to her, and mentally apologized to the other girl when she couldn't.

She dimly registered the wetness of tears, though, and wanted to laugh.

_We're just a pair of crybabies today, _she thought, and smiled when she felt fingers tighten around hers.

The telltale sound of a chopper drew nearer and nearer, and Haruki watched as it landed on the roof.

Eisuke leapt out of the helicopter, running towards them, and Haruki let out a weak sigh.

It was all over.

_She's safe. _

And, smiling, Haruki finally closed her eyes.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Chapter 13**

* * *

**EDIT**: lolll kk guys so the purpose behind my wall of text backfired horribly and now I'm getting more messages than ever because people think I'm super duper offended/scarred for life or something and will never write again. Lol thank you all very much for your concern, and you're all very very kind, but everything I wrote was meant more or less facetiously; I'm not angry or sad in the least, and alllllll I want is for this entire blog thing to die down completely. Let's all just be friends and hold hands and sing and whatnot :D I'm just going to delete all that stuff, and let's all just forget it ever happened and move on, yeah? :)

So please stop with the messages ;_; I really do appreciate the sentiments behind each and every one, but my poor inbox is begging to be put to rest, ahaha.

I'm not going to delete the tumblr shoutouts, though, just because I was told that people were apparently really happy about them, haha. Oh, and good to hear from you, gaaaaahhhhh! I made the appropriate spelling change to your name, ahahaha.

* * *

**_Ohohoh wait;_**_to bring up some happier stuff about tumblr while I'm on the subject: I've also received a lot of messages mentioning bloggers called labanba, krovski, akihaotaku, steponmeisukesama (LOL I love all your names), nala-suu, sleepy-tanuki, jstonedd, and gaaaaahhhhh (I hope I have the right number of a's and h's lol). I can't remember whether you guys were people that liked the fic and supported it, people that disliked the fic but were sweet and respectful about it, or people that also wrote Haruki/Isuke fics, lol; it's all super jumbled up in my head after reading all those messages, but I've seen these names pop up over and over again, and I wanted to sincerely thank you guys, regardless of which category you fall into. If any of you guys are happen to know what I'm talking about/are friends with this blogger, please apologize to her for me, since I doubt she'll be reading any of this; I hope she didn't actually receive any death threats, and I sincerely hope that this entire thing can just…fade away now. (And, given she can forgive my paragraph of obnoxiousness above, that we can maybe be friends. Provided she doesn't hate me as much as/more than she hates this fic)._

* * *

Okay, so on to the notes for this chapter.

The darker version won in both polls, and when the votes from the reviews were added, the pie chart ended up being split 71.67% for the darker version and 24.23% for the rewrite, while the remainder was just fine with anything.

**So yes; I sincerely apologize, and to be honest I'm a little surprised, but the darker version did win.** Majority does rule, and it simply wouldn't be fair if I went with the lighter rewrite after all of this. Once I have time later (my internship finally ends in mid-August, whoo! I intern at a hospital in the psych ward, for those of you who were asking) I may write alternate chapters going off of the rewrite; but for now, chapter 12 and the chapters after that will follow the darker version. I apologize again, and I completely understand if this path means that you can no longer follow this fic. Thank you very very much for your interest until now.

**I can say this, though: the alternate chapter 11 was the darkest that this fic will ever get. **There won't be anything more like that in the future. Also, there will be lots of fluff and such to hopefully balance it all out in the end, so…yeah. Please look forward to that :) I also tried to minimize the angst in this chapter, one because I think everyone (including myself) has had a surfeit of that stuff, and two, because I really didn't want this to play out _too_ much like some hospital soap opera thing.

I apologize for the wait for this chapter; aside from the whole blog thing, there was a lot going on this week, including an awkward affair on Tuesday that involved me completely forgetting about my boyfriend's birthday. Quite an unfortunate lapse of memory. I made it up to him with special dates and such, which took up quite a bit of time. Also, I just really wasn't in the mood to write this week. So yes, sorry about the delay.

Okay. Yay. Here's chapter 12. Sorry about the millions of line breaks, but they were necessary to create that whole weird fuzzy dreamscape kind of atmosphere. I'll try to have chapter 13 up asap to make up for the delay and the relative lack of certain...stuff in this chapter.

* * *

"She suffered from multiple contusions around her body, while the opioid analgesic that was injected into her has led to a significantly decreased blood pressure and respiratory depression; the nail avulsion—"

"Cut the _damned_ jargon and speak to me plainly!"

Eisuke trembled, stopping his agitated pacing to turn and glare at the doctor.

"Is my daughter going to be all right?"

The doctor frowned, and Eisuke noticed for the first time that her own hands shook as she placed her clipboard down onto the table.

"…your daughter's condition is stable, so she will live," she began, sinking down into the seat across from him. She was momentarily silent, clearly and carefully considering on her next words.

"But…she has been through…a nightmare, Inukai-san. We are running tests to check if she has contracted any venereal diseases, and we are administering fluids to rehydrate her body. You… are you against the use of contraception?"

Eisuke felt ill, his stomach twisting inside of him when he understood why the doctor was asking that question.

"…in this case, no, of course not," he replied, passing a hand slowly over his face. "Do…do everything you can to make that she doesn't…that she isn't—"

"Even if there is the danger of pregnancy, we will take the steps necessary to prevent it, Inukai-san," the doctor said quietly, nodding. "However…even if physically, all tests return with good news, and your daughter is physically in the clear, I…I can't say anything about her mental health after trauma of this level."

Eisuke shook his head rapidly, grasping at the arm of the chair for support.

"She'll be fine," he said heatedly, his fingers stiff and clammy as he twisted them together in his lap. "She's strong. She'll be fine. She has to be. Even…even after something like this."

The doctor grimaced.

"Inukai-san, what she went through was bad enough, but…but it's not all that I'm concerned about when I speak of her mental health," she said, abruptly getting back to her feet.

"Before she was sedated, your daughter feverishly spoke about another girl called 'Haruki' over and over again."

Eisuke nodded, closing his eyes when he remembered the state he had found the two of them in on the rooftop.

He had brought the paramedic with him in the copter for Isuke, originally, but that bloodied, battered form he had seen from the distance hadn't been his daughter after all.

_"Mama," Isuke whimpered, clutching at his chest and speaking in a voice that Eisuke hadn't heard from her since she was a child. "Haruki, she's…"_

"She was immediately taken to the ICU," Eisuke said, opening his eyes again. "She's being treated now, isn't she?"

The doctor looked down at him grimly.

"I just spoke with one of the intensivists in the ICU regarding her condition. When she arrived here, she had already lost at least 2000 milliliters of blood, and her body was in hypovolemic shock. The doctors are everything they can, but there are already complications involving acute renal failure and gut ischaemia, and…"

Trailing off, she shook her head.

"I'm not saying that it was your fault, Inukai-san. The tourniquet you applied and the work of the paramedic only helped her, but she should have been in here hours ago. Even from when you first reached her, it…it might have been too late."

She sat down again, taking his hand gently into hers.

"The prognosis isn't good, Inukai-san. Sagae Haruki-san is clearly someone very important to your daughter, and so…should the worst come to pass, then…"

"I have to figure out a way to tell her," he finished for her, numbly falling back in his seat.

He was dimly aware of the doctor quietly leaving the room, and he brought a hand slowly to his pounding temples.

From the very beginning, he had been concerned first and foremost about his daughter. How quickly he could get to her, what state she would be in, and how he could maximize her chances of survival.

Even now, his worry was reserved solely for his child, and he shook with a grief that was solely for Isuke.

But he had never even considered the thought that Sagae Haruki might die.

Inukai Eisuke was not a sentimental man; the job of an assassin would be entirely unsuitable if he had been the type to cry over every death he witnessed.

Really, he only truly cared about two people in the world: Shinji, and of course Isuke.

But every time he closed his eyes, he remembered the way Haruki had looked up at him in that narrow alleyway, eyes mirroring the same desperation and determination that he had felt as she promised to save Isuke's life.

_And she kept her word, _he thought, opening his eyes again to stare down at the hospital floor's tiles. _My child is alive because of her. _

Shaking his head, he got to his feet.

True, Isuke would never have needed saving to begin with if it hadn't been for her involvement with Haruki, but…

_But Isuke had cried for her, hadn't she?_

He grimaced, the memory bringing a spasm of pain somewhere inside of him.

Eisuke couldn't remember the last time he had seen Isuke cry.

Even when he had first taken her from her biological parents' home all those years ago, she had been dazed and withdrawn, but hadn't once shed a tear for any of the corpses that had lain in that dark room.

But for Haruki, the tears had fallen freely; Isuke hadn't even seemed aware of them at all as she had gripped her roommate's bloody shirt.

He had only managed to separate the two, letting the doctors take Haruki to the ICU and Isuke to the emergency room, once he had promised his daughter that they would both be all right.

_That's right…I made her a promise, _he realized, leaning tiredly against the wall, _and now…I don't know if I can keep it. _

Isuke…his daughter would live.

For that much, Eisuke was immeasurably grateful.

But the doctor was right; he couldn't relax yet.

Though he wanted nothing more than stay here, haunting the hallway until the doctors told him he could go and sit by his daughter's bedside, he knew that for her sake, he had to be somewhere else.

And so, turning on his heel, Eisuke made his way down to the intensive care unit.

* * *

Balling up his hands into small fists, Aki punched the wall in mounting frustration.

"I wanna see her now!" he cried, tugging at the hem of Fuyuka's skirt. "I wanna see Haruki-nee-chan too!"

Fuyuka shook her head, somehow forcing her voice to remain steady as she stared through the observation window.

"The doctors told you, Aki. Haruki-nee-chan isn't ready to see you yet. She'll be ready soon, okay? Then we can all go in as a family, and—"

On the other side of the window, the heart rate monitor spiked, and the nurses suddenly scattered as the doctor shouted commands.

_Blood. There's so much blood everywhere. Is that…is that all my sister's…_

Fuyuka looked away, her knees buckling underneath her as she slumped against the wall.

Aki abruptly stopped his demands, face screwing up in a frown as he stared intently at her.

"…Fuyuka-nee-chan, are you crying?" he asked, suddenly sounding very scared. "W…why are you crying?"

Even as Fuyuka tried to smile, she knew that she wouldn't be able to. Not like her older sister always could.

"…Haruki-nee-chan is really hurt right now, Aki," she said, and swallowed hard to keep her voice from cracking again. "She's really hurt, so you have to be a good boy and pray for her, okay? Pray that she'll be okay, and that we can go in and see her soon."

"D-did the bad men hurt her?" Kana stammered, her own large eyes filling with tears.

As Fuyuka opened her mouth to reply, the door suddenly swung open, and a tall, silver-haired man came walking into the room.

He stopped abruptly when he saw them, his expression momentarily darkening.

"…you…you must be Haruki's younger siblings," he finally said, bowing slightly. "I am Inukai Eisuke, one of Isuke's parents."

Fuyuka paled, shakily rising to her feet.

This man…this man had been the one that had sent his associates to save them.

_He…he's Isuke-san's father. Why is he…_

"H-how…how is Isuke-san?" Fuyuka managed to say, leaning back against the wall.

Her mind was wrapped in a tumult of confused emotions, and she looked away from the man before any of them could show on her face.

Inukai Isuke was the reason why they were all alive right now.

Isuke had sacrificed herself over and over and over again to save her siblings' lives. She had done so much for them, but…

_But now, because of her, my sister is—_

"Isuke is in stable condition," Eisuke said, walking slowly over to the observation window. "The doctors…told me that she kept mentioning your sister, even as they sedated her."

Fuyuka didn't reply, her throat constricting as her eyes went from all the tubes and needles sticking out of Haruki to the frantically working doctors to the erratic, constantly spiking heart monitor.

They stood there in silence, a silence that was eventually broken when Eisuke finally spoke again:

"Did the doctors say anything to you?"

Fuyuka shook her head, trembling as she closed her eyes.

"They won't…they won't even look at us. I think…I think it's because they know that…that my sister is going to—"

"Don't say it," Eisuke said sharply, and Fuyuka started when she suddenly felt a gloved hand cover hers.

Eisuke stared down at her with a solemn, penetrating gaze, his grip on her hand tightening as he shook his head.

"Your sister will be fine. I only met her not too long ago, and yet even I know that Sagae Haruki is not the type to die here," he said.

Fuyuka said nothing, eyes prickling with tears as she gazed through the glass.

"She'll be fine," Eisuke repeated, more quietly this time.

"She has to be."

* * *

Isuke awoke to the sound of crying.

The shine of harsh fluorescent lights immediately overwhelmed her the moment she opened her eyes, and she shut them again as nausea welled up inside.

She lay there in a daze, blindly groping for scattered memories and thoughts that eluded her.

_…where…where am I?_

"I-Isuke?"

Isuke turned her head, cracking her eyes open to see a distantly familiar silhouette.

"Isuke! Isuke, Papa's here, okay? Papa's right here, so…so…"

She felt two warm hands enveloping hers, and yet even as she smiled faintly, closing her eyes again, she knew that something was wrong.

Something was missing.

"Isuke…c-can you hear me? Mama is on his way here right now. He's coming from—ah, um, he's coming from somewhere else in the hospital, but he'll be here soon, okay?"

_Mama…? Is that…_

Was it Mama's presence that was missing? Was that why Isuke felt so uneasy, even with Papa's right here with her, holding her hand?

_Why…why am I here? Was I hurt?_

She heard the sound of the door opening, and Papa cried out.

"Eisuke! Isuke, Mama's here. We're both right here, Isuke."

She felt Mama's fingers wrap around her wrist and heard his voice murmur softly in her ear, but that feeling of disquiet persisted.

_Mama's here, but…but there's else…something important that I…I can't remember…_

Her head ached, and her entire body seemed to throb with a dull pain.

She felt Mama's grip tighten around her wrist, and she wondered dazedly why he was holding her wrist instead of her hand.

"I-Isuke…my poor baby," Papa whispered, squeezing her other hand. "That…that must have hurt so…so much."

There was a sudden, sharp pain in her left hand, shooting from her fingers.

Opening her eyes again, she looked down to stare at her heavily bandaged fingertips.

And she remembered.

"I-Isuke! What are you doing?"

Isuke clutched at the front of Mama's shirt, gasping at the wave of nausea that threatened to force her down again.

"Isuke, lie down! Honey, please, you shouldn't be sitting up like that, and definitely not so suddenly—"

"It's okay, Shinji," Mama interrupted quietly.

He stared down at her, gently supporting her back with a firm hand.

"M-Mama, where…what happened to…"

She trembled violently, tightening her grip on the fabric as she gazed up at his pale, impassive face.

"Haruki," she finally managed to say, looking up at him pleadingly. "Mama, what…where… where is she?"

She heard the beeping of a heart monitor suddenly accelerate, and dully registered the irregular beat as her own pulse.

_Mama…why does he look like that?_

Isuke moistened cracked, dry lips with her tongue, swallowing hard as she stared up at him.

"M-Mama—"

"Due to excessive hemorrhaging and blood loss as well as severe infections that set in, her brain suffered from oxygen deprivation and swelled. Sagae Haruki has been comatose for the past twelve hours."

He spoke so softly and so calmly that Isuke didn't immediately understand.

It was only when she noticed the way his arm was shaking as he tried to support her, the way he suddenly couldn't meet her gaze, and the way he took her other hand in his, that she realized exactly what he had told her.

She realized, and yet she still didn't believe it.

"What…what are you saying?" she asked, letting go of Mama's shirt. "Haruki…she…she wouldn't…"

"Lie back down, Isuke," Papa pleaded, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You need to—"

"Where is she?"

Ripping off the oxygen mask, Isuke swung her legs over the side of the bed. The catheters and IVs strained against her skin, and alarms went off as she tore the sticky electrodes from her chest.

"Eisuke, you can't let her—"

"She's in the ICU. If you want me to take you to her, Isuke, you have to agree to let me carry you, and to keep the IV lines connected," Mama said, moving his hand to support her side.

Isuke nodded jerkily, wincing when her head spun as Mama swept her up off her feet.

The ICU was a stark, cramped, noisy place, filled with the sounds of ventilators, patient monitors, and constantly working doctors.

Isuke wasn't certain what happened next.

She remembered seeing Fuyuka and the rest of Haruki's siblings huddled and crying in the corner of a room, and she remembered Mama letting her down onto the ground.

But in the next moment, she was sitting by Haruki's bedside, staring down at the other girl, and everything was completely, utterly wrong.

Her skin was pale, almost translucent in the way the thin, branching blue veins showed up too-clearly underneath. Her eyes were sunken and rimmed with dark circles, her body hooked up to half a dozen whirring, beeping machines.

She looked small, weak, helpless, and absolutely nothing like Sagae Haruki.

Isuke reached out uncertainly, wrapping her fingers around her roommate's wrist and half-expecting the other girl to open her eyes and flash that stupid grin.

But she didn't, and Isuke could only watch the slow rise and fall of her chest as the ventilator helped her breathe.

_She…she's actually…_

Isuke closed her eyes, wondering what she would feel and do when the numbness of shock wore off.

She couldn't cry. Crying meant that she was sad, and crying meant accepting that Haruki was…was like this.

She couldn't scream. Screaming meant that she was angry, and screaming meant acknowledging the fact that Haruki might never wake up.

She couldn't do any of these things; Isuke _wouldn't_ do any of these things.

And so, opening her eyes again, she stared down at the other girl and talked to her, as if she were still awake.

As if she could hear her.

_Because…because I'm not going to accept this. _

Isuke's fingers trembled as she tightened her grip.

Haruki was going to wake up. And Haruki could hear her.

She had to.

"What…what do you think you're doing, idiot?" she said, her voice coming out strangely uneven and hoarse. "This…isn't like you at all."

Isuke stared up at the patient monitor, mouth twisting in a mirthless smile.

"Is this some kind of payback? Are you finally taking Isuke's advice now? Because…because you're supposed to be the selfless one here, aren't you? Your family…all of your siblings…they need you, you know. They need you, and your mother needs you, and…"

She felt sick, her stomach cramping with something she knew had nothing to do with any medications or drugs.

_I can't…I can't accept this, no matter what. I have to keep talking. _

"…do…do I have to say it out loud?" she said, bringing her other hand to her forehead and blocking out the throbbing pain in her fingers. "You're an idiot, so I probably do, right?"

She smiled again, more softly this time, staring down at the other girl's face.

"…but maybe I don't. You're an idiot, but sometimes…sometimes you seem to understand things that even I don't get. So maybe…"

Haruki's wrist felt delicate and thin in her hand.

_This is wrong. This is all so…_

"But I'll say it out loud anyway. Call it…call it a development of my character, thanks to the influence of your completely stupid idiocy," she continued, her smile straining as she intertwined her fingers with the other girl's.

"Your family…they aren't the only people that need you, you know. I…Isuke needs you too."

Pressing her other hand to Haruki's pale skin, she looked down at the ground.

"I need you too. I need you, because I…I…"

Breaking off abruptly, she looked up at the other girl again.

_I can't say that. Not yet. Because she's…she not awake yet. _

"No," she said, letting out weak, humorless laugh as she shook her head. "No, I'm not going to do this. This isn't going to play out like some stupid melodramatic daytime TV tragedy, you idiot. You…"

Twisting her fingers in the fabric of Haruki's shirt, Isuke took a deep breath, throat painfully tight.

"You're going to wake up, and I'll tell you then, okay? You're the one who made me promise that we'd have that talk. You made me pinky-promise, like we're little kids or something."

Isuke went quiet, and for a long time the room was filled with nothing but the whirring and beeping of machines.

And Haruki didn't stir.

_What…what am I hoping for, exactly? What am I waiting for? _she wondered. _Life isn't some Disney movie or fairytale, so why…why do I keep thinking that she's going to wake up now if I just…_

Isuke knew she was being irrational, stupid, and unreasonably naïve.

But she couldn't stop it. She wasn't able to.

Not yet.

"…what was it that you said, back at the hotel? Something stupid and corny like 'It's okay to let yourself feel,' right? You said it's okay, but…but right now…"

Her eyes burned and her vision blurred.

"Even right now, when I'm blocking out…those things, I'm already…"

She was trembling uncontrollably, and even as she swiped at her eyes and cleared her throat, she knew she was fighting a miserable, losing battle.

"Stupid, sentimental, _useless_ things like feelings…what's the point of them, idiot, when all they do is—"

Her voice broke, and she shakily brought the other girl's cool fingers to her lips.

It hurt. More than the denailing, more than anything she had felt, it hurt.

"…prove it to me. Prove that it's not such a 'terrible thing' to have feelings, Haruki, and wake up," she breathed.

"You promised yourself that you'd be there whenever I needed you. I've…I've already told you that I need you, so…"

She fell silent again, taking slow, steadying breaths.

Finally, looking up at her roommate's wan face, she spoke again:

"I'm going to wait. You…you've always kept that promise until now. You…you always came right on time. So, this time too…"

Isuke rubbed at her eyes with her sleeve, smiling weakly.

"Isuke is selfish. You…you know that by now. What I did last night…it was just your selflessness rubbing off on me. So I'm going to wait for you, and you have to wake up for Isuke. Because I'm selfish, and because…because you don't hate that part of me, right?"

Haruki didn't move, but Isuke shook her head and closed her eyes once again.

She would wait.

It wasn't just numbness or shock anymore.

_Maybe…maybe denial, a little bit, but more than that…_

She trusted this idiot.

She trusted her, and trusted in her promise, and knew that she had to keep it even now.

_And maybe that makes me an idiot, but…_

She had accepted that a long time ago, hadn't she?

She was an idiot, but she was going to wait.

"You're the biggest, kindest idiot there is," she whispered, leaning against the bed. "So you have to wake up. Isuke…I know you will."

Haruki didn't stir, and Isuke waited.

* * *

A week passed by.

All of Isuke's test results came back negative, and any possible pregnancy was successfully avoided. The bruises began to fade, and her nails began to heal.

But the thing that had worried both her parents and the doctor showed no signs of change.

Isuke didn't talk to any of them about what had happened to her.

She barely talked to them at all, and anytime the doctor or the psychologist that was sent in even tried, she would alternate between ignoring and glaring at them until they left.

Eisuke and Shinji had only marginally more success.

"Not yet, Papa," Isuke said one day, when Shinji hesitantly attempted to broach the subject.

She looked up at him with a shadow of her usual smile, reassuringly patting his hand.

"Later, okay?" she said, but never specified when that would be.

She moved back and forth between her own room and the ICU, sometimes falling asleep in Haruki's room and staying there until Eisuke carried her back.

Though Shinji worried endlessly that their daughter was closing up, putting up walls between them, Eisuke stayed silent.

"She's waiting," he finally told his husband one night. "She has to talk to…to someone else before she can talk to us about it, Shinji. Before she can recover."

And so another day passed by, and there was still no change.

* * *

As the first week slowly moved into the second, the doctors began to talk about brain damage and worst case scenarios.

Fuyuka wept and pleaded, Aki cried and screamed, and Isuke clutched at the rail of the bed and wondered just how close this idiot was going to cut it before waking up already.

* * *

It didn't happen the way she had always seen it in the movies.

But one night, after even Fuyuka and the rest of Haruki's siblings had fallen asleep, Isuke tiredly took Haruki's hand and laid her head on the edge of the bed.

Leaning in, she whispered something very softly in Haruki's ear.

It wasn't anything new, and Isuke didn't say it in a manner that was any different from any of the previous nights.

And yet, that night, it all changed.

Right before Isuke rose to go back to her own room, she paused when she heard the monitor start to make erratic, unusual sounds.

And Haruki opened her eyes.

She didn't speak, didn't move her body, and her gaze was distant and unfocused; her eyes fluttered shut mere seconds after she had opened them.

But it was enough.

The monitor went off, doctors ran into the room, and Fuyuka and her other siblings were instantly awake, surrounding the bed as they dissolved into tears.

Isuke was quiet, trembling as she held the other girl's hand.

"…not bad, for an idiot," she finally murmured, smiling down at her roommate. "You're just in time, like always."

* * *

Another week went by, and progress was slow.

Haruki was never awake for more than a few minutes at a time, and even in her moments of consciousness she was immobile and unresponsive.

Isuke felt like she was moving slowly through a dream, which was ironically what the doctors told her that Haruki was supposed to be going through as she recovered.

_I guess I won't feel like I've woken up until she fully does, _she mused, shaking her head at her own ridiculousness. _I won't be back to the way I used to be until she is._

* * *

The very first sign of real improvement happened midway through the third week after Haruki first woke up.

Isuke watched from the side of the bed as a doctor leaned over her roommate, taking her hand and asking her to squeeze if she could hear him.

There was no response, and after a few minutes of the same thing over and over again, the doctor quietly sighed and left the room.

Isuke stared after him as he left, brows raised.

And then she turned back to Haruki and took her hand.

"…you don't want to listen to some old bag, right? So listen to Isuke, instead," she said, smiling as she intertwined their fingers. "Squeeze if you can hear me, okay?"

When the squeeze came, Isuke at first thought she had imagined it entirely.

She froze, feeling her pulse quicken as she looked apprehensively up at her roommate's face.

"…if you can hear me, Haruki, can you squeeze my hand again?"

And, a few seconds later, there it was again.

It was weak, more of a twitch of her fingers than a squeeze, but it was there.

She didn't seem to be aware, and her eyes had remained unfocused as she did it, but…

But it was really there.

"…at…at this rate, you'll be better in no time at all," Isuke finally said, smiling as she leaned her head into her other hand.

"Just leave it to Isuke, and you'll be back to normal in no time 3" she added, and for the first time in over a month, Isuke heard a trace of the usual playful lilt entering her voice.

* * *

Two weeks later, and Haruki was gradually taking slow steps forward.

She made movements, responded to stimuli, and usually obeyed commands.

Isuke waited with something that wasn't quite patience, exactly.

Patience implied some kind of inner fortitude and virtuous perseverance.

_Isuke doesn't have any of that stuff, _she thought, with a quiet scoff.

She was just…stubborn.

She was obstinately waiting for Haruki to go back to the way she used to be, mostly because…

_Because I can't wake up until she does, _she repeated to herself, as she made her way down to the ICU once more.

* * *

On the night of the fifth week, Isuke woke up to something warm pressing down on her head.

As she opened her eyes, she felt a very weak tug on her hair.

And when she looked up, she saw Haruki staring back down at her.

Isuke wasn't sure why she did it.

Maybe it was the culmination of all the idiocy that had been rubbing off on her for these past few months.

Maybe it was to test her reactions and see if she was really, truly aware.

Maybe she was just ridiculously and unbelievably happy to see her roommate's eyes on her again.

Isuke wasn't sure why she did it, but she tightened her grip on Haruki's hands, leaned in, and gently brushed her lips against her forehead.

And when she pulled away, Haruki was still staring at her, the faintest of smiles tugging at her lips as she squeezed Isuke's fingers.

* * *

It wasn't like she had given her roommate some kind of kiss of life, and the following weeks didn't at all resemble the endings of Snow White or Sleeping Beauty.

Haruki still couldn't speak, eat, or move on her own, and she still seemed to have trouble focusing when she was awake.

And yet Isuke suddenly felt like some heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Every time Haruki's eyes would shift to rest on her, the load would get lighter and lighter, and on the day that Haruki's hours of consciousness finally managed to exceed those of unconsciousness, it seemed to disappear altogether.

It still felt like she was moving through a dream, but it wasn't a nightmare anymore.

* * *

"…I…Isu…Isuke…"

Isuke dropped the spoon, sending grains of rice scattering all over the table.

Haruki's lips twitched in that faint shadow of a smile again as her gaze dipped down to the fallen utensil.

Isuke hadn't been sure.

She had known that Haruki was at least self-aware now, and after the kiss she had thought and hoped that she understood what was going on; but the doctors had spoken about retrograde amnesia, and when all Haruki could do was look at people, she had no way of confirming…

"…c-close," Isuke finally said, picking the spoon up again and not even bothering to suppress the stupidly broad smile that spread across her face. "Close, but not quite. It's Isuke-_sama_, but I'll let you off the hook for now 3"

And Haruki's smile widened just a fraction in response.

* * *

The day it all ended actually started off as an ordinary one.

Isuke kissed Mama and Papa good morning, ate her breakfast, and ignored Papa's repeated attempts talk to her about…what had happened, all those weeks ago.

She then made her way down to Haruki's room.

Haruki was awake when she entered, and her gaze shifted from the window to focus on Isuke as she made her way towards the bed.

She didn't smile as Isuke sat down beside her, and her brow was furrowed slightly as if in thought when she looked up at her.

"Something wrong?" Isuke said, frowning.

Though Haruki often had periods of obvious agitation and confusion, apparently natural for anyone recovering from a coma, she had never seemed so pensive until now.

Haruki slowly reached out with her right hand, and Isuke stared as she tugged weakly at the front of her shirt.

Isuke hesitantly rose to her feet, sinking down again as Haruki pulled her down onto the edge of the bed.

"I…Isuke," she began, with a clearly concentrated effort. "I…I need to…"

Isuke gazed at her roommate mutely, a strange sense of unease welling up inside of her.

Haruki had never spoken more than her name and the names of some of her siblings a couple of times.

She had never seemed so alert, the look of constant disorientation suddenly gone from her eyes as she frowned in concentration.

"…t-tell you…something," she murmured, looking up at her. "I…I need to."

Isuke forced a shrug of nonchalance even as her heart pounded with an inexplicable and rising apprehension.

"Take your time. There's no rush—"

"Took…t-too much time already," Haruki said, with an odd, almost rueful look. "S…sorry."

Isuke laughed shortly, her fingers curling unconsciously into fists.

"What could _you_ possibly have to be sorry for? Look, just save it. I…I have a lot to say too, but until you're better—"

"I…forgot," Haruki said, staring up at her intently. "I forgot…but…now I remember."

"…what did you forget? And what did you remember?"

"…promises," Haruki replied, and then smiled. "Lots…of promises."

Her smile faded, and she covered Isuke's hand with her own.

"…and…and h-how much…you…were hurt.

"How much…Isuke…went through. Because… because of me."

Isuke said nothing, feeling her fingers begin to tremble in Haruki's hand.

"So…I'm sorry."

Isuke stared down at the ground, almost afraid to look up.

"It's not…it's not your fault, idiot," she finally managed to say. "You don't have to be sorry."

There was a brief silence, and Isuke felt a weak tug again at her shirt. For reasons she wasn't even sure of yet, she still didn't look up.

"…Isuke."

In that moment, Haruki sounded like she had all those weeks ago, before…before everything. Her voice was louder, stronger, and clearer than it had even been since she woke up.

And it was just as kind, gentle, ridiculously _warm_ as it had always been.

Isuke finally looked up, and started when she felt Haruki's hand move up to rest on the small of her back.

Her other hand rose up between them, and Haruki extended her pinky.

"Remember?" she said.

"…I never forgot," Isuke replied, with a quiet laugh.

Haruki looked at her seriously, gaze unwavering.

"…I wanted…to wait to have any...kind of talk. Until…until everything was…done," she said, before letting out a weak sigh. "…but things…didn't work out that way.

"So…so can I…be selfish again, Isuke? Can I…can I just…tell you now?"

Isuke nodded once, not even entirely sure what she was agreeing to.

(_Or maybe she was sure, and she just didn't want to think...or to hope that maybe...)_

Her temples were pounding, her chest tight, her throat constricted, and yet she felt strangely lightheaded as stared back at her roommate.

Haruki smiled again, and she pressed a hand gently to Isuke's cheek.

"…I love you, Isuke."

And with those words, the dream that she had been trapped in for all these weeks finally ended.

* * *

Something inside of her had burst, and she cried like a helpless, pathetic little baby as she gripped Haruki's shirt and closed her eyes.

She was aware, now, her mind finally free of the dazed numbness that had overtaken her since she had come back to the hospital.

And so now, she finally understood.

_I want things to go back to normal, _Haruki had said to her, as they had climbed up the stairway all those weeks ago.

Isuke…Isuke had wanted the opposite.

She couldn't have things go back to normal.

If Haruki had died, if Haruki had forgotten her, if Haruki didn't…didn't feel as she did towards her, then everything would definitely have gone back to normal.

And Isuke's "normal" was something she didn't want anymore.

It wasn't as though her normality was bad.

She would still have Papa, Mama, and all the money that she wanted.

But the thought of this normality brought the same exact feeling of emptiness that she had felt when she had first woken up in this hospital.

_The sense that something was missing…it was always her, wasn't it? _

Haruki's arms were unexpectedly strong as they wrapped around her, and her hand rubbed slow, gentle circles on her back.

When Isuke looked up, the other girl was smiling down at her, and Isuke knew that she understood.

"…you were…scared," Haruki murmured, leaning her head comfortably against Isuke's. "I'm… sorry that I…made you…worry."

Isuke was quiet, and as she leaned into the other girl, her trembling slowly subsided.

"…idiot," she said, once she could speak again, and Haruki immediately chuckled in response.

"Hearing that…means that Isuke…Isuke-sama is…back, right?"

Isuke didn't reply, but she nestled closer to the other girl and let out a quiet sigh.

_She's getting there, _she confirmed, smiling inwardly._ Thanks to you._

They were both silent, remaining there together on the bed.

When Haruki suddenly stirred, Isuke looked up to see the other girl staring down at her with an almost mischievous glint in her eyes.

"…I…confessed. Isuke-sama…isn't…going to respond?"

Isuke frowned, feeling a sudden heat in her cheeks that she hadn't felt in a very long time.

"I already did, you idiot," she said, pulling back slightly as she scowled.

"You cried," Haruki replied, and now Isuke could definitely see a playful spark in those eyes as she smiled down at her. "That…doesn't seem like a good…response."

Sure that she was flushed red now, Isuke glared up at the IV drip stationed above and behind Haruki's head.

"You…do you really need me to say it?" she said, adjusting her position beside the other girl.

"…no," Haruki replied. "Don't…don't need to."

Isuke looked back to her, surprised, and her face was promptly captured between Haruki's hands.

"W-what are you—"

"Can…can I kiss you, Isuke?"

Haruki's fingers had moved down to trail along her jaw, while the other hand lingered by her cheek.

Both hands suddenly felt extremely cool, especially considering Isuke's rapidly increasing temperature.

Isuke opened her mouth, fully intending to reply with one of the usual barbed remarks that she had been missing for the past few weeks.

But then Haruki's confession replayed in her mind, the reality of what exactly was happening here hit her all over again, and what came out of Isuke's mouth was eventually a very quiet "yes."

And so, leaning forward, Haruki threaded her fingers through Isuke's hair and captured her lips with her own.

It was slow, soft, and ridiculously tender, her lips moving gently against Isuke's as her hands stroked her hair and face.

It was affectionate, sweet, and entirely characteristic of this idiot.

It left Isuke breathless, as gentle and almost-chaste as it was.

And it made her stupidly and absurdly honest, because the moment it was over, she wrapped her arms around the other girl and breathed the three words that she wanted to hear right into her ear.

Haruki blinked at her, looking startled, and the faintest splash of color finally bloomed in those pale cheeks.

And as Isuke scowled, flushing a deeper red herself, Haruki's smile widened into the grin that she had so often worn all those weeks ago.

"Shut up," Isuke grumbled, before the idiot could even say anything.

Haruki chuckled again (Isuke hadn't realized exactly how much she had missed hearing that sound) and tugged her up into her lap.

"H-hey, wait a second, you idiot; you're still recovering, and you're not nearly strong enough yet to—"

"You're light…and…having you here…makes me feel stronger."

Isuke huffed, settling down against the other girl's chest and trying to hide the dumb smile that tugged at her lips.

"It's good to see that your cheesiness hasn't changed," she said, and after another quiet laugh from Haruki, they both lapsed into another brief, contented silence.

"…it's…not over," Haruki finally said, squeezing her hand.

She didn't say anything else, but Isuke understood.

Nothing was over.

Just the opposite, really.

Everything was just beginning.

She knew that she'd have to talk about what happened all those weeks ago. That she'd have to come to terms with that, that she'd have to face it.

She knew that Haruki's rehabilitation was only just beginning. That it'd be another few weeks before she could even walk on her own again, let alone go back to the way she used to be.

She knew all of this, and yet…

_It doesn't seem all that bad anymore. _

It obviously wouldn't be easy, but with this idiot here, then…

"No, it's not over," she agreed. "But…you're awake now. And Isuke is, too."

She didn't say anything else, but Haruki understood.

It was going to be irritating, frustrating, and difficult, and there was so much to think about that Isuke didn't even know where to begin.

Yet now, when she newly aware of all of this...

Isuke found herself smiling (smiling like she hadn't in many, many weeks) as she leaned back against the other girl.

And with Haruki's hand covering hers, she closed her eyes and finally rested.


End file.
